The Goblins' Son
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: 8-year-old Hermione Granger, living near Harry Potter, notices that his relatives don't treat him well and with her parents' help finds a more adequate home for him - on Goblin Island. Completely AU, partly OOC, sick!Harry, pairing HP/HG.
1. Chapter 1

**The Goblins' Son **  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
A huge thanks to Lucimoon and__ JB5391 _for betaing. I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.

* * *

Seven-year-old Harry Potter was lying on his small lumpy mattress in his cupboard under the stairs. He knew that he should immediately start his chores; otherwise he would not be able to finish everything by tomorrow night, when his relatives, the Dursleys, were going to come back from their weekend ski trip in Scotland. However, he was feeling outright ill this morning. His head, throat and eyes were sore, and he felt hot and cold at the same time. In fact, he had tried to get up and drag himself out of his cupboard to begin with his chores earlier, but feeling too dizzy to remain upright, he had crawled back into bed.

A panicked thought suddenly struck his mind. _'I need to shovel the snow by the front door,'_ he remembered. _'Otherwise I could really get into trouble if someone slips on the snow and gets hurt.'_ He dragged himself out of his cupboard and pulled over his warmest sweater, a relic of Dudley's wardrobe, and his much-too-light denim jacket, which was all he possessed, since Dudley had not grown out his winter jacket yet.

A few minutes later, as he began to shovel the snow, he relished the ice-cold air soothing his flushed, hot face. He hadn't even reached the half-way point to the main road and felt absolutely exhausted. He knew, however, that he had to finish his strenuous task before he'd be able to rest.

All of a sudden, a soft voice penetrated his ears. "Hello Harry."

Harry looked around in surprise, not used to anyone but his school teacher, Mrs Atkinson, addressing him in such a gentle voice. It was Hermione, one of his classmates.

"Hermione," He whispered, looking at the girl in surprise. In fact, he somewhat liked the girl. She never played pranks on him nor ridiculed him like most of his other classmates did in order to please his gluttonous cousin, Dudley. However, she had not really spoken to him either, even if he noticed that she was often watching him. _'She's probably afraid of what Dudley would do to her if she was friendly to me,'_ he thought. He knew that her parents were dentists and that they had taken over the dental practice in Little Whinging a few years ago.

"I had hoped to see you," Hermione now said, smiling, holding out a small parcel to him. "Happy Valentine's Day Harry."

Harry blinked in confusion and disbelief, thinking, _'I'm not allowed presents because I'm a freak.'_

"Harry, take it," Hermione encouraged him. "It's for you. It's a chocolate frog. I hope you like it. You know what a chocolate frog is, don't you?"

"No," Harry replied, a frown marred his face for a split-second before looking at her in question.

"Harry, I know that you're magical just like me..." Hermione began to lecture him in a firm voice, before Harry interrupted her, terrified.

"There's no such thing as the M word," he whispered, glancing around at the neighbouring houses, feeling very relieved that his relatives were away and could not witness their strange conversation.

"Nonsense," Hermione replied firmly. "And I know you. You're Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived." Noticing that Harry did not show any reaction to the epithet, but looked at her in apparent confusion, she stepped in front of him and slowly raised her right hand to lift his fringe, her delicate fingers brushing the thin scar. "See, I knew it, you have the scar," she said, triumphantly, before she interrupted herself and blurted out, "Oh Merlin Harry, you're burning up with fever. Why does your aunt make you shovel snow if you're ill?"

"I'm fine," Harry replied, automatically. "My relatives are away over the weekend."

"Come home with me," Hermione said in determination.

"I have to finish this," Harry replied, inwardly sighing. _'I'd so love to go with her,'_ he thought, when suddenly a violent shiver shook his body.

"That's it," Hermione said in a firm voice. "You're coming with me. My parents will be able to help you." She pressed the box with the chocolate frog into Harry's hand, before she gently supported his left arm and slowly led him to her home, knowing that she could rely on her parents to help the boy.

HP

The Grangers warmly greeted Harry and invited him to lie down on the sofa in the living room. Knowing that he wasn't supposed to be in the living room at all, the child very hesitantly complied, and Mrs. Granger placed two small phials on the table next to him.

"Drink up sweetie, it's Pepper-up potion and fever reducing potion for children, like medicine but much more efficient. It always helps Hermione when she has caught a cold," Mrs. Granger instructed him in a soft voice, causing Harry to look at her, eyes wide.

"I'm not allowed medicine," he whispered, however, he felt too miserable to not comply when the Grangers insisted that he was not only allowed, but was even supposed to drink his potions so that he'd feel better quickly. He noticed that the potions helped a lot and listened with interest when Hermione told him how she had learned that she was a witch by chance.

One day, about two years ago, Mrs. Granger had been talking to Mrs. Figg. When the old lady had enquired about Hermione, Mrs. Granger had told her that she was very upset with her daughter because Hermione had turned her teacher's hair blue that very morning because the teacher had not given homework to her class. Knowing that Hermione had to be a witch, Mrs. Figg had introduced the Grangers to her friend Alberta O'Brien, who was also a witch and who had kindly given the Grangers a thorough introduction to the wizarding world. Ever since then, Hermione had read books about the magical world.

"Thank you for telling me this," Harry said, gratefully, before he slowly rose and explained, "I need to go and finish shovelling the snow and do my other chores. Otherwise, my relatives will be very angry."

"Harry," Mrs. Granger contradicted in a firm voice, "you're in no condition to do chores, and I'm sure your relatives will understand if you tell them that you've been ill."

"No." Harry sadly shook his head. "They know, but they just ignore it," he admitted in a small voice, causing the Grangers to cast him horrified looks.

"Harry," Hermione spoke up, sounding upset. "If they don't treat you well, we'll just take you away from them." Turning to her parents, she said, "Harry never has anything to eat for lunch with him, and he always wears Dudley's hand-me-downs. He doesn't even own a proper winter coat."

Harry could not help but blush. "I'd love to get away from them," he supplied in a barely audible voice, "but they told me that no one else would be willing to put up with my freakishness and that I'd end up in the Children's Home."

"Nonsense Harry," Mr. Granger contradicted in a firm voice. "We'd be willing to take you in. We'd need your relatives' consent though for the legal papers."

"I don't think that it'll be that easy," Mrs. Granger spoke up, thoughtfully. "When Hermione once asked Mrs. Figg about Harry, she told us that the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, who is one of the most powerful people in the magical world, has placed him with his relatives. He also instructed her to not tell him about the magical world. Maybe we should floo-call Mrs. O'Brien and ask for her advice."

Her husband and Hermione agreed, and to Harry's surprise, Mrs. Granger leaned face-first into the fireplace and appeared to speak with someone. A moment later, an elderly lady stepped out of the fireplace.

HP

"You won't be able to take Harry in," Mrs. O'Brien bluntly told the Grangers after hearing about their suspicion that Harry was neglected and abused by his relatives, "nor will we. My husband is the Head Healer at St. Mungo's and, as such, very influential in the magical world and could also testify about any possible abuse. However, Professor Dumbledore is the Head of the Wizengamot and, as far as I know, he is also Harry's guardian in the magical world." She remained thoughtful, eyeing the boy, who was much too small and too skinny for his age, in apparent concern, before she spoke up again. "I suggest that we introduce Harry to the goblins. They're not in any way obligated to obey to Dumbledore, so they'd be the best option to help the child."

Seeing that the adults and children looked at her in expectation, she continued, "I'm good friends with a goblin named Gwenlin. Her husband is Buckbean, one of the goblins working at Gringotts Bank. Would you mind if I called her and asked her to step through?"

"Of course not," Mr. Granger replied immediately. "Thank you very much for your help in this matter."

"You're very welcome," Mrs. O'Brien said, smiling at the Muggles who were so extremely interested in everything concerning the magical world. "Thank Merlin that I could convince you to connect your fireplace at that time," she added, chuckling, before she leaned into the flames and called her goblin friend.

Hermione sat next to Harry on the sofa and gently laid her hand on Harry's right arm. "Don't worry Harry, everything will be all right," she said in a soothing voice, before hopping up to join him on the squashy sofa. "Why don't you eat your chocolate frog in the meantime?" she suggested and proceeded to tell the boy about the cards of famous wizards and witches, which could be found in the package together with the frog. "I've been collecting them for two years now and have a lot of them," she said, proudly. "I'll show them to you later on."

HP

The children's conversation was interrupted, when a strange creature stepped through the fireplace. It was almost the same size as Harry. _'Looks like a dwarf like in the story that we read at school last week,'_ Harry thought, giving the creature a curious look.

"This is Gwenlin," Mrs. O'Brien informed Harry and the Grangers, before she introduced the Muggles and the two magical children to her goblin friend.

"Good day, Mrs. and Mr. Granger, Hermione and Harry," Gwenlin greeted them in a friendly voice. She accepted the offered seat and listened with interest to what the Grangers and Mrs. O'Brien told her. After remaining pensive for a few minutes, pondering the situation, she finally broke the silence that had followed the explanations about Harry and his situation at his involuntary home.

"Did I understand correctly that Harry's guardians are away and will not know if I take him with me until tomorrow evening?"

Seeing that everyone turned their eyes to him, questioningly, Harry confirmed, "Yes Ma'am."

The goblin smiled. "Just call me Gwenlin, sweetheart. Very well then I suggest that I take Harry with me for the time being, and he can see if he'd like to live together with my husband, our eight-year-old twins Kengo and Jane and myself. What do you think, sweetheart?"

_'It can't be worse than at the back at Privet Drive,'_ Harry thought, enthusiastically. "I'd like that very much," he replied, smiling shyly. _'I just hope they won't make me go back to my relatives when they notice that I'm a freak,'_ he thought, anxiously.

"Gwenlin," Hermione threw in, excitedly. "Will I be able to meet with Harry every now and then, even if he's living with you?"

The goblin smiled. "Of course dear, your friend is only a floo-call away. You may come and visit us at any time. The same goes for you as well," she added, turning to the adults. "Very well Harry, shall we go?" she asked, giving the boy an encouraging look.

"All right," Harry replied in a small voice, casting Hermione an uncertain glance, before he allowed the goblin to pull him into the fireplace together with her.

"I'll contact you tomorrow evening," Gwenlin promised, before she shouted, "Buckbean's home."

* * *

_tbc... only if there is interest, otherwise I will just continue to post it for my friends on Facebook like I did so far._


	2. Chapter 2

**The Goblins' Son **  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
Thanks to LuciMoon and ____JB5391_for betaing. I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.

* * *

When Gwenlin pulled him out of the fireplace, Harry took in his surroundings with interest. _'Everything looks more futuristic than at the Dursleys' house,'_ he realised, seeing that the furniture was made of metal instead of wood.

"Jane, Kengo, Buckbean," Gwenlin called her family and introduced Buckbean and the twins to Harry. "This is Harry, he comes from an unfriendly home, and he'd like to stay with us," she explained.

Harry shyly looked at the goblins, trying to distinguish them. _'Buckbean is just a bit taller than Gwenlin, and Jane wears a skirt, but her brother wears trousers. If they're always clothed like this, I'll be able to recognise who is who,'_ he thought.

"Shall we show Harry Goblin Island?" Jane suggested, smiling friendly at the younger boy.

"Yes, that would be nice," Gwenlin agreed, "but are you feeling well enough Harry? The Grangers said you were sick?"

"It's just a cold," Harry replied, feeling very uncomfortable at the attention. "I'm fine, and I'd like to see the goblin island."

"If you don't feel all right, you must tell the twins and come back," Gwenlin instructed him in a stern voice. "Leave your jacket here. On Goblin Island, it's always warm and sunny."

"Well then, come Harry," Kengo spoke up, and the twins led Harry out of a door, before they began to explain.

"There are about five hundred goblins..."

"... and we all live on this island."

"Most of the men work at Gringotts, the wizarding bank..."

"... and the women stay with the children who're too small to attend school or help with the cooking."

The twins pointed to a large building that seemed to be made of metal and looked like a pot. "This is our assembly building, the Teapot, as it's called," they told Harry and informed him that all goblins would gather at the Teapot for the meals and at special occasions. Continuing to complete each other's sentences, they showed Harry the school, which all goblin children attended from the age of seven.

"Will I be able to go to school here?" Harry asked, excitedly.

"Of course..."

"... if you live with us, you must attend school here," the twins informed him.

"We have classes in Reading, Writing, Maths, Economics, Health, Potions, Wizarding Culture, Goblin Culture, General Magic and Sword Making..."

"... and Wizarding Culture is taught by a half goblin and half wizard..."

"... Professor Flitwick, he's a professor at Hogwarts."

After showing Harry the main buildings of Goblin island, the twins led Harry to the beach informing him that the whole island was surrounded by a beach, before leading to the endless ocean; a brighter blue than a summer sky back in England.

"In order to get away from Goblin Island..."

"... you must either use the fireplace or step through the Portal, which is situated in front of the school building..."

"It leads to Gringotts in Diagon Alley, the magical shopping area on the mainland..."

"Or you can apparate..."

"... but we're only going to learn to apparate when we'll be ten in two years' time," the twins told him.

Harry chuckled. "Your way of speaking is really funny," he said, noticing the twins' questioning look. "Thank you so much for all the information. I already like Goblin Island a lot. It'll be great to live here." _'All the houses seem different from each other, not all alike like at Privet Drive,'_ he thought, _'and the sea looks gorgeous. I wonder if we'll be allowed to swim here sometimes._'

"That it is," Jane replied, warmly, "and we're happy to have a little brother, aren't we Kengo?"

"Yes," the older boy replied, grinning at Harry.

HP

By the time the three children returned home, Harry felt exhausted and noticed that he had a bit of a headache.

"I don't think that you're really well yet," Gwenlin said, eyeing the young boy. She pointed her hand at his head and sighed. "Your temperature is slightly elevated. Maybe you need another dose of Pepper-Up potion. After dinner, I'll take you to Inken for a check-up. She's our Healer and will surely be able to help you."

"I'll come with you," Jane announced, noticing that Harry gave her mother a frightened look.

"Let's go to dinner," Buckbean spoke up, before he turned to Harry. "Have the twins shown you around the island?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied, smiling. "It's a wonderful place."

Together with his new family, Harry stepped out into the sunlight again and walked to the Teapot, where dinner was just about to begin when they arrived. Dinner cooked by the goblin women was delicious, even if it was slightly different from the kind of meal that Harry was used to cooking for the Dursleys and mainly consisted of meat, roots and fungi. At first he was hesitant to sit at the table and eat together with the goblins, having learnt from his relatives that freaks did not have the same rights as everyone else. However, when he told Gwenlin about it, she became very angry at his relatives and made it clear for Harry that he was supposed to sit at the long table together with them and eat whatever they ate.

On the way back home, they walked by the infirmary. Harry glanced around at the light, airy room, frightened, while Gwenlin introduced him to Inken, the Healer. _'It looks like the hospital room at school, but with a much better view'_ he thought, recalling that the school nurse had always been very friendly to him and had stood up for him in front of Aunt Petunia multiple times.

However, when the Healer, who was dressed in a white robe, pointed her hand at his head and waved her hand over him a few times, Harry felt very uncomfortable, unused to magic or medicine. He looked up, horrified, when the learned Healer informed Gwenlin about the bruises and welts that were covering eighty percent of his body.

"We know that he comes from an unfriendly home," Gwenlin informed the Healer. "That's why we decided to take him in and make him a member of our family."

_'She wants me in her family,'_ Harry thought in delight, _'although she must know by now that I'm a freak.' _ He drank the Pepper-up potion, without complaint and deep in thought, from the goblet that the Healer pressed into his hands, feeling happier than he had ever felt before.

"He only has a very bad cold that seems to have been neglected for a while. Perhaps he will need one more dose of Pepper-up in the morning, but then he should be fine," Inken told Gwenlin quietly. "One day, I should do a thorough check-up on him, but that can wait until he's really comfortable with our magic. He seems to be a bit frightened."

Gwenlin thanked the Healer profusely, before she took Harry's hand, squeezing gently, "Let's go home sweetheart."

While far away at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry an alarm alerted the Headmaster and his colleagues, who were having tea in his office, to the fact that the wards around the Dursleys' residence were coming down, Harry happily walked back to his new home together with his new parents and siblings.

HP

Back at home, Gwenlin led Harry into a bedroom that was even larger than Dudley's first bedroom. "Harry, would you mind sharing a room with Kengo?" she asked in a soft voice. "We can make another room, but for that we need to ask one of my husband's colleagues for help."

"No no, it's fine," Harry hurriedly reassured her. "I'd love to share a room with Kengo, but only if Kengo doesn't mind." He questioningly looked at the older boy.

"Of course I don't mind," Kengo replied, smiling. "Just think how much fun we're going to have playing pranks on Jane."

Chuckling at the unexpected reply, Harry shook his head. _'I'm a good boy,'_ he thought. _'I don't play pranks, especially not on nice girls.'_

While Harry engrossed himself in a conversation with the twins, their mother waved her hand around the room, adding a second bed, wardrobe, table, chair and bookshelf on one side of the room.

"Harry, this is your side of the room," Gwenlin informed the child, before she continued in a no-nonsense voice, "Go to bed now and rest."

"All right," Harry grudgingly agreed, although his mind screamed that he felt well now and wanted to spend some more time speaking and playing with the twins.

**_At the same time at Hogwarts_**

"Albus, what is this sound?" Professor McGonagall enquired in concern.

The old wizard thoughtfully stroked his long, white beard, before he replied, "The wards around Harry's home seem to come down. Minerva and Severus, would you be willing to accompany me to the Dursleys' residence and make sure that Harry is all right?"

"Why would I go and check on Potter?" Snape muttered, while McGonagall readily rose from her seat.

A minute later, the three professors stepped out of Arabella Figg's fireplace.

"Hello Arabella," Dumbledore greeted her in a grave voice, "Do you have any idea why the wards around the Dursleys' home could be failing?"

"No Albus," the old Squib replied, astonished. "I've seen Harry shovel snow earlier, but I don't know what's happening." Seeing that the professors already left her house, she ran behind them, across the street towards the Dursleys' house.

"Everything seems to be all right here. Maybe the Dursleys have gone out for dinner," Dumbledore supposed, upon realising that no one seemed to be at home. "Considering that Arabella saw Harry earlier, I think we don't have to worry right now. Let's return to Hogwarts."

"Albus, are you sure that Harry's all right?" McGonagall queried in utmost concern.

"Yes Minerva, I'm certain," the Headmaster replied, calmly. "If he was in any peril, a different alarm would have alerted me to the fact."

**_On the Goblin Island_**

When Harry woke up in the morning, sunshine flooded the room, and the twins were sitting on Kengo's bed smiling at him.

"It's time to wake up lazybones," Kengo said, chuckling.

"Breakfast is going to begin in fifteen minutes," his sister added.

"And after breakfast, we're going to go and play Quidditch together with the other kids..."

"Have you ever played Quidditch?"

Harry cast the twins an uncertain look. "I'm sorry, but what's Quidditch?" he asked, hesitantly, causing the twins to give him a detailed explanation about broom riding and Quidditch in general as well as on Goblin Island. By the time they headed to the Teapot, Harry was certain that he wanted to play Quidditch together with the twins.

HP

Two hours later, the goblin children were very excited. "Harry, we want you to play in the Children's team," the goblin who trained the children informed him, causing Harry to give his siblings a questioning look.

"That's all right Harry. You'll make a brilliant Seeker," Kengo reassured him, smiling.

"And the Children's team plays against the Goblin's team of the adults," Jane added. "Most players coming from the Children's team will play on the Goblin's team when they're older."

"The Goblin's team is our official team that plays in the tournament against the elves' team and the wizards' team," the trainer supplied. "Only very good players are able to play in the Children's team, but you're the best Seeker that I've ever seen. With you as our Seeker, we might be able to beat the adults' team."

"All right," Harry hesitantly agreed. "If you think that I'm able to play."

"We saw that Harry..."

"... You were brilliant," the twins reassured him.

"What's your name?" the trainer queried.

"Harry, son of Buckbean," Kengo supplied quickly, before Harry could even say his real name.

"Very well. Training is every Sunday afternoon at five o'clock, and the team has its own brooms. You don't need to bring one," the trainer informed Harry and dismissed him.

Like in a daze, Harry followed the twins back home, where Jane and Kengo excitedly told their mother what had happened.

"Congratulations Harry," Gwenlin finally said, smiling at the boy. "I'm very proud of you son."

_'She's proud of me?'_ Harry wondered, knowing that never before anyone had told him that they were proud of him. _'It must be like this to have real parents,'_ he thought, happily.

HP

Later the same day, after Harry returned from Quidditch practice with the Children's team, Buckbean asked, "Harry, if I understood correctly, the Dursleys are going to return home tonight. Are you sure that you want to remain here as a member of our family?"

"I'd like to remain here sir... if it's possible," Harry replied immediately, anxious.

"Of course it's possible," Gwenlin reassured him. "Buckbean just wanted to make sure that's what you want. Otherwise we'd have to take you back tonight. Now how about you call your friend Hermione and invite her to visit us tomorrow after school?"

"And yes..."

"... it's possible," the twins threw in, grinning.

With Gwenlin's help, Harry floo-called Hermione, who was very happy after hearing what he told her about Goblin Island and excitedly agreed to visit Harry the following day.

_'I can't wait to show everything to her,'_ Harry thought when he was in bed later on and Gwenlin had gently tucked him in. However, in the morning, he was so excited about his new school that everything else remained out of his mind for a few hours.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your many kind reviews. _


	3. Chapter 3

**The Goblins' Son **  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
Thanks to my brilliant beta ____JB5391! _I am not a native speaker of English. 

* * *

"Will I be in the same class as you?" Harry anxiously asked the twins, when Gwenlin and the three children walked to the school that morning.

"Probably yes..."

"... as we've only been eight for four months," the twins replied, grinning enthusiastically.

"You'll see..."

"... school is great fun," they told him.

"I think you'll like it sweetheart," Gwenlin threw in, smiling. "They teach lots of interesting things at our school."

When they arrived at the school, which was a white stone building situated right next to the sea, the twins begged their mother to let them accompany Harry to the Headmistress' office; however, Gwenlin refused.

"You can't miss your first class without talking to your teacher beforehand. Just go to class, and maybe reserve a seat for Harry next to you," their mother instructed them firmly.

"Between us you mean," the twins replied, simultaneously, grinning at their mother before they hurried away.

To Harry's relief, the headmistress was a very friendly goblin. _'Oh well, so far all the goblins that I met were friendly,'_ he thought, as he absentmindedly listened to the conversation between the two goblins.

"It's no problem that he's human provided that he's magical," the headmistress informed Gwenlin in a gentle voice.

"Yes, he seems to be a very powerful wizard, and he managed to get into the Children's team," Gwenlin replied proudly. "He's already got used to his new siblings, and they get along very well, so I don't think he'll have problems adapting to our world. He grew up in the Muggle world, where he has been treated badly."

"Do you like Goblin Island?" the headmistress turned to Harry, giving him an encouraging smile.

"Yes Ma'am," he replied, shyly. "I love it. It's warm and sunny, and everyone here is very friendly. Also from what the twins told me about the classes here at school, it seems to be much more interesting than the classes in my old non-magical school."

"Very well then, let me take to your class," the older goblin said, holding out her hand to Harry, smiling when the boy hesitantly slid his own, small hand into hers. "Don't worry, he'll be fine," she whispered to Gwenlin, who nodded, smiling at the child.

"Enjoy yourself Harry," she said, before she turned towards the entrance doors.

HP

In contrast to primary school, the goblin children had a different teacher for each subject. Everyone was extremely friendly to Harry; not just the teachers but the other children too, and he enjoyed himself a lot, even if he noticed that he had to catch up for the six months he had missed since the beginning of the school year. However, the twins consoled him, promising to study with him in the afternoons.

However, in the last class of the day, they had Potions, and the Potions professor completely ignored Harry. He was very disappointed, especially since he found that the class was the most interesting of all classes and he really wanted to learn as much as possible about ingredients and brewing methods.

"Don't worry Harry," the twins told him on their way home.

"Brightbird is not as mean as it seems..."

"... we think that he's very shy..."

"... and he probably just doesn't know how to handle a human."

"I hope so," Harry replied, feeling slightly consoled by the twins' words.

"If you want, we can go back to the Potions classroom in the afternoon..."

"... He's always there, and we sometimes go..."

"... and brew fruit drops or a prank potion..."

"But we could speak with him instead," the twins suggested, causing Harry's face to brighten immediately.

"Yes please, that would be great. And I'd like to brew something together with you," he added, chuckling in anticipation, before he remembered that Hermione was going to visit him in the afternoon.

HP

Harry, Hermione and the twins spent the whole afternoon walking through Goblin Island, playing on the beach and talking.

Suddenly, Hermione let out a long sigh. "You've no idea how much I envy you," she said, sadly. "Your school seems so much more interesting than our stupid Muggle primary school. I wished I could attend school here too."

The twins exchanged a quick look. "Why not?" they then blurted out. "Let's go and ask Flowerbrick."

"That's the headmistress," Harry explained to Hermione, before he grabbed her hand and ran to catch up with the twins.

"You can't just go into the school and ask if I can attend," Hermione said in confusion, when they stopped in front of the school building.

"Maybe you can't..."

"... but we can," the twins contradicted, grinning, and strode ahead.

Shaking their heads in confusion, Harry and Hermione hesitantly followed the twins, who were heading straight to the headmistress' office.

Flowerbrick listened to the twins' explanation with apparent amusement, before she replied, "If Hermione is magical and her parents' don't mind her attending our school, I don't have any objections, provided that you don't bring any other humans to our school for the time being. I won't accept more than two humans for one class."

"We won't," the twins promised, simultaneously, making everyone smile at their antics.

"I'm sorry for being so impolite," Hermione apologized, before she explained about her Muggle school and having heard from Harry about how interesting the goblin school was. "I'm sure that my parents will allow me to attend school here. It's only for a little more than three years though, because then I'm going to attend Hogwarts together with Harry," she added.

"Ah I know Hogwarts," the headmistress replied, "our Flitwick is a professor there. He only teaches a few classes here on Saturday mornings and gives extra classes during the summer holidays." She glanced at the clock on her wall, before she asked, "Is your home connected to the Floo network? I should speak with your parents in order to properly enrol you for the first class."

"Yes Madam Flowerbrick," Hermione confirmed, "and I need to go home now anyway." Turning to Harry and the twins, she said, "Thanks so much for everything. I hope I'll see you tomorrow morning."

HP

While Hermione stepped into the fireplace with the headmistress, Harry and the twins returned home. _'This is even getting better,'_ he thought on the way. _'I can attend classes with everyone; Jane, Kengo _and_ Hermione. That's cool. I hope her parents will agree.'_

Harry and the twins arrived home with just a few minutes to spare before they had to leave for dinner. Buckbean motioned Harry to take a seat on the sofa in the living room and informed him, "Today I've been talking to my colleagues, and they changed several things in your personal records." Seeing that the boy eyed him curiously, he continued, "Gwenlin and I are your guardians now. For the magical world, we have listed Professor Flitwick as your guardian. I don't know if you've met him, but he is half goblin and half wizard and teaches here and at Hogwarts. I believe that he'll be a good guardian for you if you need any human in the magical world."

"Thank you so much sir," Harry replied, contentedly, thinking, _'I can't wait to meet Flitwick on Saturday.'_

"For the Muggle world," Buckbean continued, "the Grangers are listed as your guardians now."

"Oh cool," Harry commented, pleased with the banker goblin's choices. "Thank you."

"As for the Dursleys," Buckbean spoke again, "if anyone asks about you, they'll tell them that you've just gone to visit a friend and will be back later on, and your teachers and classmates of your Muggle school have been dealt with as well, so that they won't miss you and possibly alert Professor Dumbledore to your absence."

"Thank you so much for everything," Harry said, gratefully.

HP

The next morning, Hermione attended school together with Harry and the twins. Every morning, she took the Floo to Gwenlin's and Buckbean's house, and the children walked to school together.

Classes were very interesting, and Harry thoroughly enjoyed himself. The other children easily accepted that Harry and Hermione belonged to the twins' family and were all very friendly to the two humans. At first, Hermione and Harry had problems in a few subjects like Sword Making and Finance, as they had missed the first half of the school year, however, the twins helped them catch up in the afternoons.

"Don't worry about the Sword Making..."

"... We won't be able to finish our sword until the end of our third year..."

"... and Sword Fighting will only be a subject starting in fourth year, anyway," Jane and Kengo reassured them and proceeded to concentrate on Finance and Goblin Culture.

HP

Professor Flitwick's class was very interesting, and Harry and Hermione were disappointed that the first-years only had one class with the half human teacher. They learned easy charms that could be useful in everyday life like _Lumos_, the Summoning charm, _Accio_ or the unlocking spell _Alohomora_. After their first class together, the teacher kept the two human children back, causing Harry to look at Hermione nervously, feeling slightly reassured at her encouraging smile.

"Hermione and Harry," Flitwick addressed them, sounding very excited. "I'm happy to see two human children here in order to study the goblins' culture. I really appreciate the effort you are taking to learn about it. It ought to be compulsory at Hogwarts."

"Thank you sir," Hermione replied, eagerly. "We're only going to remain here until we're of age to attend Hogwarts. I can't wait to be finally able to go to Hogwarts. I've read _Hogwarts: A History_ eight times by now. I can't recall having read your name though. Could you please tell us what you're teaching at Hogwarts?"

While Harry inwardly groaned at Hermione's endless questions, Fliwick chuckled in apparent amusement, before he replied, "I teach Charms, and I'm the Head of Ravenclaw House, into which you're surely going to be sorted if you've read _Hogwarts: A History_ eight times at the age of seven or eight."

"Eight sir," Hermione informed him, "and Harry's seven."

"Harry," Flitwick turned to the boy, "I received notice from Buckbean, who is listed as your guardian in the goblin world, that I'm now your guardian in the magical world."

"Yessir," Harry replied quickly, slurring in his rapid response. "I hope that's all right with you sir."

"Of course it is," Flitwick reassured him, grinning happily. "I was just wondering... Does Professor Dumbledore know that you're not residing with your relatives anymore?"

"No sir, he mustn't know that," Hermione threw in, moving towards Harry protectively. "He was the one who placed Harry into an abusive home and forbade everyone to even tell him about the magical world. Professor, will you please keep his secret?" Her brown eyes implored, as her oversized front teeth had caught her lip.

"Of course dear," Flitwick replied gently. "I will only tell one of my colleagues, Professor McGonagall, about the matter, because I know for a fact that she's very worried about Harry and doesn't approve his placement with his relatives at all. Till now, although more than six years have passed already, she has been fighting with the Headmaster about it at least once a week."

"I know Professor McGonagall," Hermione spoke up, thoughtfully. "She's the Transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor, right?"

"Yes," Flitwick confirmed, grinning enthusiastically. "She was Harry's parents' Head of House and has often babysat him when he was a baby. I know that because we were all very fond of him as a little tyke."

"If you're sure that she won't give me out to the Headmaster," Harry threw in, uncertainly, feeling very awkward upon hearing the teacher speak about him as a baby.

"I'm one hundred percent certain about that," Flitwick reassured him. "Very well, I have to hurry to my next class. Just know that you can ask me whenever you have any questions or problems with either the goblin or the magical world. During the week, you can send me an owl any time."

Harry and Hermione profusely thanked the teacher and left the classroom, where the twins were waiting for them, curious.

HP

One afternoon in April, when the two humans were caught up in all their subjects and Hermione had returned home right after school, the twins suggested to go back to the school and speak with the potions teacher, who was still very reserved towards Harry and Hermione although both children were very good in all subjects.

Hesitantly, Harry followed the twins into the Potions classroom, which was very bright, held several more workspaces than they needed for their class, and was very well organised, at least in Harry's opinion.

"Good day Brightbird," the twins greeted the teacher who was just busying himself brewing two potions simultaneously.

"Good day," Brightbird replied, frowning as he put his potions under a stasis charm. "What brings three siblings back to the Potions classroom in the afternoon?"

Harry couldn't help feeling himself blush at the teacher's sharp look and was extremely grateful towards the twins, when they replied immediately.

"We'd like to brew something interesting..."

"... maybe some fun potion..."

"... if possible..."

"And we'd like you to get to know Harry..."

"... because he's very interesting in Potions," they explained with their usual antics.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews. You have no idea how much they mean to me!_


	4. Chapter 4

**The Goblins' Son **  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__Thanks to my brilliant beta ____JB5391! _I am not a native speaker of English.  


* * *

The Potions professor quirked an eyebrow in silent question, when Jane stepped over to the bookshelf and fetched a book that the teacher had shown them before.

After helping the twins selecting an easy recipe of fruit drops, the teacher addressed Harry in a relatively soft voice. "I suggest that instead of helping your siblings brew their potion, you could assist me in order to learn how to properly prepare the ingredients. You've missed several valuable months of classes."

"Yes sir, please sir," Harry replied, enthusiastically. He stepped over to the teacher's workspace and began to prepare the ingredients that were laid out on the table according to Brightbird's instructions.

"Very well done boy," Brightbird commended him, when he extinguished the flames under the simmering potions. "You seem to be very adept at brewing. Come again in the afternoons whenever you wish to assist."

"I'd like that sir," Harry said, happily. "Thank you so much sir."

HP

From that time onwards, Harry spent almost every afternoon in the Potions classroom until the twins came to drag him away. From explaining to him what he had missed during the first few months of the school year, Brightbird proceeded to teach him thorough knowledge about potions and ingredients. By the time the school year ended and the summer holidays began, during which the school remained open and the pupils could busy themselves in their favourite classrooms, with or without their teachers' assistance, Harry was already able to flawlessly brew all the potions that were taught during the first three school years.

On the last day of classes, Brightbird told Harry, "During the holidays, I intend to do some research. If you have time and want to assist, you're very welcome to do so."

"I'd love that," Harry replied, immediately. "But I haven't done well in my Goblin Culture test and was told I had to come for extra classes during the holidays."

Brightbird snorted "You don't need extra classes, just ask your parents to teach you whenever they have time. It's not that difficult."

"It's not difficult," Harry agreed and explained in a barely audible voice, "I think the teacher hates me, especially since Hermione didn't do well either, and she's best in our class in all other subjects."

Brightbird nodded, pulling a face. "I know Darkbark all too well. He must have a grudge against the two of you as you are human. Tell your father that I said he should teach you and your friend instead of sending you to Darkbark."

"I will," Harry replied, happily, and when he told his parents about the matter, they both agreed to teach Harry and Hermione themselves every weekend when Buckbean was at home.

HP

Assisting in the lab even during the holidays was very interesting. On the first day, the teacher explained in detail what he was trying to attempt with his research.

"Do you know what Lycanthropy is?" he asked Harry, who shook his head in confusion.

"Oh, all right, I thought you might know that as it's a human illness," the teacher said, thoughtfully, and explained everything about werewolves. Just when Harry was beginning to wonder if the goblin was trying to find a cure for a human illness, Brightbird continued, "In the goblin world, there's a similar illness. Of course it doesn't make goblins transform into werewolves, however, it makes them very ill before, during and after the full moon. It's called the Blue Moon disease. As of today, it's not such a problem anymore, since the Healers have found out that the vaccination for the wizarding and even the Muggle measles makes goblins and humans immune to the Blue Moon disease."

Seeing Harry deeply listening, he continued, "However, there are still many goblins of all ages infected with the disease. Therefore, we need a remedy. Throughout history, for hundreds of years Potions Masters have tried to find a cure, so we mustn't get our hopes up; however, I would like to do some research in this area."

"I fully understand," Harry replied. "Thank you for allowing me to assist, sir."

The teacher smiled and explained how he intended to proceed. He pointed to a few dozen rats, which he kept in small cages at the back of the classroom and told Harry that during the next few days they'd make several variations of a potion and feed them to the rats. "We'll know if we succeeded when it'll be the full moon in a few days' time."

_'This sounds really interesting,'_ Harry thought, feeling very pleased that the professor included him in his research.

HP

However, the following morning, Harry woke up feeling very unwell. His head hurt badly, his ears seemed to be strangely filled with cotton wool, and he felt slightly dizzy. _'I won't tell anyone,'_ he resolved, hoping that it would just go away by itself like many illnesses had while he was living at the Dursleys'. _'There's no way I'm going to miss the potions brewing,'_ he thought, while he dragged himself to the potions classroom, glad that the perceptive twins had still been asleep when he had left the house.

Only Gwenlin noticed that he was not his usual self when he came home at lunchtime, however, left him in peace when he told her that he was fine and would be going to the beach with Hermione and the twins after lunch.

It was two days later, the day of the full moon, that Harry felt too unwell to even get out of bed. Not only did his head bang in time with his heartbeat, but appeared to have swollen to twice its usual size and he felt hot and cold at the same time. He just closed his hurting eyes again to shade them from the too bright light and remained in bed, inwardly sighing in relief when Kengo noticed that something was wrong and fetched Gwenlin to check on him.

"Oh no," she blurted out, taking in his swollen, bluish face, seemingly horrified. "You've caught the Blue Moon disease."

The twins looked at Harry in clear shock.

"Has he not received his shots for the magical illnesses?..."

"... In our Healing class Inken told us that all wizards and witches and muggles received shots for the Blue Moon disease..."

"... and no one could catch it from the goblins at Gringotts."

"It's the vaccination for the measles, but the Dursleys never took me to a doctor or Healer," Harry whispered, horrified.

"Harry, the Blue Moon disease..." Gwenlin began to explain, however, the twins interrupted her quickly.

"Mum, you can see that he's feeling horrible..."

"... just give him a potion if there's something you can give him..."

"... and let him get better, before you tell him the truth..."

"... He'll still have time enough to adjust before the next full moon."

"I know what the Blue Moon disease is, Brightbird explained it to me," Harry whispered, before he succumbed to the potions that Gwenlin spelled straight into his system and drifted off to sleep immediately.

If Harry had thought in the morning that his condition could not get worse, he realised during the evening and night of the full moon that he had been sadly mistaken. Gwenlin and Buckbean took turns staying with him during the night trying to make him feel better.

"Mum, am I going to die?" he asked Gwenlin, who was sitting on the edge of his bed trying to cool his hot, blue face.

"No sweetheart, you'll be fine," the goblin reassured him, gently caressing his cheeks.

"It's all right, you don't have to stay up with me," Harry whispered, although he had to admit to himself that it felt good to be cared for while feeling so miserable.

It was two days after the full moon that he felt mostly back to normal again.

"I thought I was going to die," he admitted to the twins, who gave him pitying looks.

"You're not going to die from it..."

"... but you'll get it every full moon," they informed him in grave voices, causing Harry to nod, sadly.

_'That's why Brightbird is so keen on finding a cure. It's a horrible disease,'_ he thought, inwardly groaning.

HP

The Potions teacher was shocked to hear about Harry's illness and informed him in a serious voice that none of the potions variations had worked on the rats. At the same time, he promised the boy that he'd continue his research until a cure would be found.

A few days later, Hermione returned from her holidays with her parents, and Buckbean and Gwenlin began to teach the children during the weekends, not only in Goblin Culture, in which both children had problems in school, but also in Sword Making, Health and Economics, subjects which, they had been informed by Professor Flitwick, would not be taught at Hogwarts. At the same time, Professor Flitwick's summer class in General Magic began.

The professor was as horrified as Hermione upon hearing about Harry's problem.

"Professor, is there any way to hide Harry's symptoms by charms?" Hermione asked the teacher on the first day of their summer class. "If people learn that he has a goblin illness, Professor Dumbledore will likely find out that he grew up with the goblins, and while he isn't of age, he could still try to send him back to the Dursleys."

"Oh no!" Harry panicked. _'I didn't even think about that.'_

Professor Flitwick gave Harry a thoughtful look. "We could hide his symptoms by concealment charms, that wouldn't be a problem. However, your classmates would notice that you're always ill around the full moon and assume that you're a werewolf."

"If they won't see my blown up face, they won't know that I'm ill," Harry replied in a quiet voice. "I'm used to do my chores even while being unwell."

"Well, we still have three years before we'll be able to attend Hogwarts. Maybe Brightbird will be able to find a cure in the meantime," Hermione threw in, giving Harry an encouraging smile.

Harry let out a long sigh. "Thank you Professor, Mione. I don't think there will be a cure anytime soon though. Potions Masters have been searching for one for several hundred years," he replied, darkly.

"Harry, I'll think about it, and I'll speak with Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey, our Mediwitch, about the matter," the diminutive professor promised. "We'll see to it that no one's going to know about your problem if possible. Oh and by the way, I almost forgot..." He paused, grinning at Harry in apparent excitement, before he continued, "I told Professor McGonagall about you, and she was very glad and relieved hearing that you're growing up here. She told me to say hi to you, even if you'd probably not remember her."

"Thank you so much sir," Harry replied, smiling. "Please tell her that I'm looking forward to meeting her in three years' time at the latest."

"Professor," Hermione threw in, urgently. "Could you perhaps bring Professor McGonagall here one day? Harry and I could show her around the island. I'd love to get to know her."

"That would be very nice," Harry agreed, knowing that Hermione seemed to be very fond of the Gryffindor Head ever since reading _Hogwarts: A History_.

"I'll see what I can do," Flitwick promised, before he excused himself, as he had to return to Hogwarts.

HP

Professor McGonagall decided to visit Harry and Hermione at Harry's parents' home for his birthday, provided that the goblins didn't mind.

"Of course that's all right with us sweetheart," Gwenlin reassured the boy, who relayed the message to Professor Flitwick the following morning.

"My birthday is good, then the next full moon will be over," Harry said to the twins, when they were relaxing in the boys' room in the evening.

"The full moon is in five days' time," Jane spoke up, giving Harry a concerned look.

"Are you still feeling all right?" Kengo queried, equally worried.

Harry let out a long sigh. "My head hurts a bit," he admitted in a small voice, "but it's still all right. It's just very unsettling to know that I'm going to be ill in a few days' time. However, this time I know about it in advance and I'm sure your mother will give me some potions that make me feel well enough to attend school."

HP

"No sweetheart, you can't go to school today," Gwenlin told him five days later. "You're ill."

"But I have to," Harry replied, heatedly. "At Hogwarts, no one can know that I'm always ill on the full moon. Please let me go to school."

"Harry, you may get up and sit in the living room and read a book, but you can't go to school," Gwenlin insisted.

"But Mum..." the twins threw in.

"Today, we only have Flitwick's class for an hour..."

"... and then we can come home immediately..."

Gwenlin sighed. "Very well then, if you really think you're in a condition to attend that class, you may go. But if you have any problems, come home through the Floo right away." Turning to the twins, she instructed them, "Please stay with Harry the whole time." She waved her hand over the child in order to cast a concealment charm to hide his blue, swollen face, causing Harry to cast her a grateful look.

"Thank you," Harry said in a small voice, feeling relieved on the one hand but absolutely awful on the other hand. He dragged himself through his class and back home, feeling the utmost relief when he could go back to bed.

During the rest of the day, the twins kept him company, only when they had to go to bed in the evening, their parents took their seats on the edge of Harry's bed.

"I'm so sorry," Harry suddenly began to sob. "My relatives were right, I'm nothing but a freak."

"You're not a freak sweetheart," Gwenlin said in a soothing voice, gently caressing his flushed cheeks.

"Besides, it's your relatives' fault that you caught the disease in the first place," Buckbean threw in, sternly. "If they had taken you to get the necessary vaccinations on time, you wouldn't have caught it."

"M'sorry for being such a burden," Harry sobbed.

"Leave it Buckbean. He's too ill to understand," Gwenlin whispered to her husband. "As soon as he's better, we'll ask him about the adoption. That'll help him."

HP

A few days later, Gwenlin and Buckbean had a private conversation with Harry.

"Harry, do you remember what you called us when you were ill the other night?" Gwenlin asked in a gentle voice, causing Harry to blush.

"I'm sorry," he stammered. "I..."

"No sweetheart, there's nothing to be sorry about," Gwenlin interrupted him. "We were just wondering if that's what you really feel about us." Seeing that Harry was obviously feeling uncomfortable with the topic, she explained, "To Buckbean and me it feels as if you were our third child, and we're thinking of properly adopting you, provided that's what you want as well."

"I'd love that," Harry blurted out, staring at the goblins, who had already been something like parents to him for months, in surprise.

"Very well then I'll see to it tomorrow," Buckbean promised, smiling at the child.

_'They want to become my parents although I'm a freak and have this illness,'_ Harry thought, feeling very happy, loved and cared for. _'I hope the twins won't mind though.'_

HP

Two days later was Harry's birthday, and knowing that Professor McGonagall was going to come to see Hermione and him on that day, Harry was very excited. _'Must be the first time in my life that I'm excited for my birthday,'_ he thought, when he went to bed the evening before.

"We're going to have fun tomorrow," Kengo told him, knowing that, unbeknownst to Harry, a few other humans were going to accompany McGonagall to Goblin Island.

_tbc..._

_Thank you very much for your kind reviews! Please continue to review, and the next chapter will be up soon. I have already posted up to chapter 6 on FB and am writing chapter 7 right now..._


	5. Chapter 5

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
____Thanks to my brilliant beta ____JB5391! _I am not a native speaker of English.

* * *

When Harry, Hermione and the twins returned home after a visit to the Potions classroom, Harry was surprised to see three human visitors sitting in the living room with his adoptive mother and Professor Flitwick.

"Hello," he said, shyly, looking up with interest when the visitors introduced himself as Minerva McGonagall, Rolanda Hooch and Poppy Pomfrey from Hogwarts.

All three ladies wished him a Happy Birthday and lightly hugged him, exchanging horrified looks upon noticing how he flinched back from the touch in spite of his efforts not to do so.

"Harry, I'm so glad to see you alive and well," McGonagall finally said. "Do you remember the tabby cat that was sitting on the garden wall at the Dursleys' from time to time?" Seeing Harry stare at her in confusion, she explained, "That was me. I was so worried about you all these years, and then you suddenly vanished. It was a great relief when Professor Flitwick told me about your whereabouts shortly later."

"Excuse me Professor," Harry asked in a small voice, feeling just a little bit hurt at the revelation, "but why did you never speak to me? I'd have been very happy if I had got to know you then."

"Professor Dumbledore forbade us to make any contact with you. He would be very upset if he knew that I went to check on you in my Animagus form let alone that we're meeting here today," McGonagall replied and her expression softened. "I'm sorry Harry, and I'm very glad that you found such a wonderful home."

"Yes, I'm very happy here," Harry admitted, returning the professor's smile.

"As for your health problem," Madam Pomfrey threw in, "I suggest that we let Professor Snape in on your secret. He's the Potions Master and might be able to develop some more efficient potions to help you fight the effects of the illness."

"Poppy, do you think it would be wise?" McGonagall contradicted. "Remember how Severus despised Harry's birth father and even Harry when he was a baby merely due to his resemblance to James."

"It's all right Ma'am," Harry threw in, quickly. "Please don't speak with Professor Snape then. Brightbird, our Potions teacher, might be able to help me, and is searching for a cure now. Maybe things will improve before I attend Hogwarts."

With that the adults decided to dismiss the matter for now and go to the beach, where everything was already prepared for Harry's birthday party.

To Harry's and Hermione's surprise, the three witches transformed into a cat, a dove and a squirrel before leaving the house with Flitwick, Gwenlin and the four children.

"They think they attract too much attention walking through Goblin Island in their human forms," Flitwick whispered to Harry and Hermione, who were watching the three Animagi in awe.

As soon as the adults transformed back into their human forms upon arriving at the beach, Hermione spoke up, eagerly. "Professors, can you please teach us how to become an Animagus? I'd love to become one as soon as possible."

"Yes, that would be great," Harry agreed, smiling.

McGonagall let out a long sigh, before she explained how difficult and dangerous the Animagus transformation was. However, she promised to teach Hermione and Harry when they came to Hogwarts as first-years. "In the worst case, we have to tell everyone that you're having problems with wand magic, officially because you grew up in the Muggle world and secretly because you're used to wandless magic," she said, thoughtfully.

While everyone enjoyed their picnic on the beach, the four visitors from Hogwarts told the children a lot about Hogwarts and patiently replied to Hermione's never ending repertoire of questions, before they finally announced that it was time for them to return to Hogwarts.

"We'll come again for your next birthday," McGonagall promised, smiling, before she stepped into the fireplace.

"Congrats for being Seeker on the Quidditch team by the way," Hooch commended him, grinning. "I'll see to it that they abolish the rule about first years not being allowed to play on a House team." With that she excused herself.

"Harry, we'll speak about the matter with your illness again in three years' time," Pomfrey said in a soothing voice, before she as well returned to Hogwarts in the late afternoon.

HP

"Ahh, that was interesting," Hermione blurted out. "I hope all teachers will be as nice as them. I just can't wait to attend Hogwarts."

"You know..."

"... that hurts..." the twins threw in, feigning pouts.

"Don't you like our school...?

"... and Goblin Island?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, while Harry chuckled, grinning at his siblings.

"Of course I like it here," Hermione replied, sighing. "I wished I could attend both, the goblin school and Hogwarts."

Harry couldn't help laughing, shaking his head in amusement.

"Mione, Hogwarts is a boarding school. We won't be easily able to get away from there to visit our parents let alone attend classes here," he replied, sounding slightly frustrated. In fact, Harry had already pondered the situation and wondered if he would be able to get away in order to assist Brightbird in finding a cure for himself and continue playing on the children's Quidditch team, only to have to admit to himself that it wouldn't be possible.

"When is the Apparition taught here?" Flitwick suddenly threw in, making the children turn their heads in confusion. No one had noticed the half human enter the room together with Gwenlin and Buckbean.

"When we're ten," the twins replied, simultaneously.

"Ah that's good," Flitwick said, sounding contented. "As Hermione probably knows, it's impossible to apparate within the boundaries of Hogwarts..."

"Yes sir," Hermione interrupted the professor, looking at him in expectation.

"No one at Hogwarts, except me, knows, however, that it's possible to apparate within the castle using the goblin's way of apparition. It's a bit similar to the elves' method, and the elves are also able to pop through Hogwarts." He grinned in apparent excitement, seeing that the children were hanging on his words, and added, "See to it that you properly learn the goblin apparition before going to Hogwarts. Then you'll be able to easily apparate here right from your dormitory." In a sterner voice, he continued, "You must be very careful that no one misses you though. If you get sorted into Ravenclaw it would be easier than if you will be in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, let alone Slytherin."

"We'll see to it, Professor," Hermione replied, eagerly, and Harry nodded in agreement.

_'How can we see to it?'_ he wondered. _'I don't have a clue what to do about it or even how we're going to get sorted.'_

As if he had understood his silent question, Flitwick advised the children, "Just study goblin knowledge as much as you can, and you'll do fine."

HP

Classes resumed in the morning, and when Harry visited the Potions classroom in the afternoon, Brightbird informed him that he was going to continue his research in favour of a cure for the Blue Moon disease during the school year. "If you assist with the research and the normal potions that I have to brew for Inken, I'll have time enough during the afternoons," the teacher said, thoughtfully.

"Of course I'll assist," Harry promised, eagerly.

However, in spite of all their efforts, during the next two years, all their efforts remained unfruitful. Every month around the full moon, Harry struggled through his classes in spite of the fact that Gwenlin always tried to keep him at home during these days. Only twice did he allow his mother to inform the school that he was ill, once when his class had a Maths test on the day of the full moon and he realised that he was in no condition to concentrate enough to get a good grade, and once when there was an exam in Economics right after the full moon. Apart from his parents and siblings, Flitwick, Brightbird and Inken were the only goblins who knew about Harry's illness, and the boy definitely wanted to keep it that way.

The day before his tenth birthday, however, there was a Quidditch match of the children's team versus the adults' team on the day of the full moon, and Harry put up a huge fight with his parents about participating in the match. The Quidditch match against the adults' team took place twice a year, once in winter and once in summer, and so far, ever since Harry had joined the team, the children's team had always won due to his Seeker abilities.

_'It's bad enough that I will only be able to participate one more year,'_ Harry thought, dully, knowing that the players of the children's team could automatically transfer into the adults' team, even if it was only the reserve team, when they turned fourteen. _'I really have to practise apparating, so that I'll be able to attend practice and matches even when I'm at Hogwarts. Maybe there's a way to somehow create a copy of myself so that no one will miss me at Hogwarts. I'll do some research,'_ he resolved and tried to explain to his parents how important it was for him to attend the match.

However, his parents remained firm and told him that it was too dangerous for him to fly in his condition on the day of the full moon.

"Don't worry Harry..."

"... even if we don't want you to get hurt either..."

"... we'll help you," the twins promised, when the three children were sitting in Kengo's and Harry's room in the evening before the match.

"Thanks," Harry replied and drifted off to sleep with a smile, knowing that he had the best siblings anyone could wish for.

HP

In the morning, Harry obediently remained in bed in order to not make his parents suspicious and hoping that he'd feel just a little better during the match in the afternoon, and Gwenlin and Buckbean, who had decided to watch him like hawks, slowly relaxed. Right on time before the players had to gather an hour before the beginning of the match, the twins managed to distract their parents by setting up a cauldron in their small and rarely used kitchen, where they began to brew a prank potion.

_'That's it,'_ Harry realised. He scrambled out of bed, exchanged his pyjamas with his Quidditch outfit with a wave of his hand, cast the concealment charm, which he had practised multiple times, and hurriedly left his home. Only when he reached the Quidditch pitch, already feeling exhausted from the short walk, he let out a relieved sigh. _'The concealment charms seem to work,'_ he thought, contentedly, when none of the other players commented on his condition. _'I just have to catch the Snitch quickly.'_

By the time the match began, Harry almost whished himself back into his bed; however, he tried to focus on the task ahead. Nevertheless, it took more than ninety minutes, before he finally spotted the Snitch. Not feeling well enough to do any spectacular dive or other antics in order to distract the other team's Seeker, he flew straight into the direction of the Snitch. As usually when he was affected by the Blue Moon disease, his ears felt like they were filled with cotton wool, and he did not hear a team member warn him of an approaching Bludger. Just when he closed his hand around his favourite, small ball, he felt something hit his head. Unable to handle the situation in his unfortunate condition, he lost the grip on his broom and in front of the horrified spectators tumbled down towards the ground.

Several kind hands cast slowing spells at him that softened his impact on the ground; nevertheless, Harry was in so much pain that he remained unmoving on the ground, only barely registering that his parents and siblings were among the dozen of goblins leaning over him. Only when he heard someone say, "We'll have to take him to St. Mungo's," he slowly opened his eyes.

"No, not St. Mungo's. Please take me to Inken," he whispered, remembering that he didn't want anyone in the magical world to know that he had the Blue Moon disease.

Hearing his words, Inken ushered everyone else out of the way and carefully moved him onto a stretcher to take him to her domain. His parents and siblings followed her in concern, noticing in horror, that unconsciousness engulfed him before they even reached the infirmary.

HP

At the same time, an alarm went off in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts that alerted Albus Dumbledore to the fact that one Harry Potter was in mortal peril.

_'The blood wards,'_ Dumbledore remembered, terrified. _'Maybe they really failed a few years ago. I need to go and check on Harry. Thank Merlin Minerva isn't here right now. She'd fret over the child again.'_

He quickly stepped through the fireplace, glad that Arabella Figg was absent and he was able to leave her house without being seen. Changing his wizarding attire into Muggle clothes as he went, he rang the door bell at the Dursleys' residence.

"What do you want?" Petunia Dursley hissed at him upon seeing the old wizard's face. "Leave us in peace."

"Excuse me," Dumbledore replied in a friendly yet firm voice. "I'd like to check on your nephew. Is he at home right now?"

"The freak has gone to see a friend," Petunia informed him, trying to shut the door into his face.

This did not go well with the powerful wizard, who demanded, "Tell me the name and address of his friend. I wish to see Harry now."

"I don't know."

"It's important," Dumbledore urged and informed her about the alarm in his office.

"And why exactly would I care?" Petunia scoffed. "Let the freak kill himself, then we're rid of the burden."

"It's only seven more years, before he'll be an adult, and from next year onwards he's going to spend ten months of the year at Hogwarts anyway," Dumbledore replied coldly, before he turned on his heels and apparated back to Hogsmeade, hoping that all the devices in his office were faulty.

To his relief, by the time he reached his office, the device in question had ceased to ring and did not indicate Harry Potter to be in mortal peril anymore.

HP

"Will he be all right? Will he survive?" Gwenlin asked Inken, tears leaking from her eyes.

"He's stable now for the time being," Inken replied in a stern voice. "I'd feel better if a human Healer could check on him though. Some things are just different between goblins and humans. I understand that he doesn't want to be taken to the wizarding hospital because of the Blue Moon disease though."

"Madam Pomfrey..."

"... she knows him..."

"... and she's a human Healer," the twins blurted out, causing her mother to make a bee-line for the fireplace.

"Do you really have to speak in that way even in such a situation?" Buckbean lightly scolded the twins, who merely returned innocent looks.

"Ah don't scold them," Inken spoke up in a soft voice. "They're fine children, and they'd do anything for their brother."

"That I know," Buckbean replied, glaring at the twins.

HP

Everyone sighed in relief, when Gwenlin returned with Pomfrey in tow. The two Healers quickly introduced themselves to each other, before Pomfrey turned into Healer's mode and began to wave her wand over Harry, muttering to herself as she cast spell over spell.

"He'll be all right," she finally said, as she let her wand sink. "Apart from the Blue Moon disease, which of course weakens his body immensely, he's merely suffering from a bad concussion now."

"Yes, that's what my spell shows too," Inken agreed, seemingly relieved. "Earlier he was about to slip into a coma, which was life threatening in combination with the Blue Moon disease. Will you take him with you? He should be stable enough now to be moved."

"No," Pomfrey replied in a firm voice. "Our Headmaster mustn't know that Harry is residing here and that I've been meeting him already a few times. I believe that he'll be in good hands with you here, and if it makes you feel better, I'll come and check on him once a day, whenever I'll be able to get away from Hogwarts."

"Yes, that would be good," Inken replied, smiling. "In fact, I like Harry very much. I know him well, because he uses to assist our Potions teacher brewing the potions for me and he often comes and brings me the new batches on his way home." She suddenly interrupted herself and leaned over Harry, prying the Snitch out of his right hand.

"Here Buckbean, please take the Snitch back to the Quidditch pitch and inform everyone that your son has caught the Snitch," she said in a firm voice, before she added, grinning, "It's about time that the adults' team feel ashamed for losing the matches against the children five times in a row."

_tbc..._

_Thank you for your kind reviews! You have no idea what they mean to me..._

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	6. Chapter 6

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__Thanks to my brilliant beta ____JB5391! _I am not a native speaker of English.

* * *

Harry had to remain in the infirmary for a whole week. He slept a lot, but he also spent much time talking with Inken about anything and everything under the sun. His parents visited him whenever they could, and the twins and Hermione, who used to spend the whole afternoon with him, kept him updated about what they had learned in Professor Flitwick's summer class, even if they weren't allowed to bring any schoolwork. Madam Pomfrey came to check on him every morning, and Harry used the opportunity to ask her anything that came to his mind about Hogwarts. To his surprise, even Brightbird came to see him twice and informed him about his newest ideas concerning the cure.

When Inken released him on Sunday morning, informing not only Harry but also his parents and siblings that he was not allowed to do anything strenuous like Quidditch for at least two weeks, a nice surprise in form of a belated birthday party with his family, Hermione, Flitwick and the three professors from Hogwarts awaited him.

He thoroughly enjoyed his birthday party, which as usual took place on the beach, and he was delighted when he received books from each of the professors. McGonagall gave him a book that was entitled _'Discovering my Animagus Form'_, from Pomfrey he received _'Healing Potions for the Advanced User,'_ from Hooch a book with the title _'Magical Animals and their Use in Potions'_, and Professor Flitwick presented him a book called _'Advanced Charms for Everyday Use.'_ From his parents he received his own broom, a Nimbus 2000, which was not even officially released yet, but Buckbean had been able to lay his hands on the fast broom with the help of a long time customer. The twins gave him a broom polishing kit, and from Hermione he received a book about magical animals that were suitable pets in the wizarding world.

HP

When school began again, the now fourth years learned Apparition and Sword Fighting using their own swords, which they had finally finished during their third year.

Neither Harry and Hermione nor the twins overly liked Sword Fighting to say the least; however, all four children were very eager to learn Apparition as soon and as well as possible.

"Just wait and see..."

"... we're going to visit you at Hogwarts," the twins promised, making Harry smile in anticipation.

HP

A few weeks after the beginning of the new school year, it was Hermione's eleventh birthday, and she received her Hogwarts letter. When Harry and the twins stepped through the floo in the afternoon to have a small birthday party at her parents' house, she showed them the letter with excitement.

"Mum and Dad promised to take me to Diagon Alley tomorrow in order to buy my school supplies," she blurted out, excitedly. "I know it's early, but I can't wait to read our new school books."

Grinning at her enthusiasm, although he could only understand her all too well, Harry said, "I wished I could go with you."

"Why don't you come with us Harry?" Mrs. Granger invited him, kindly. "As you know, we're your guardians in the non magical world, so even if anyone from Hogwarts saw us, it wouldn't be strange that we took you with us."

"I'd like that," Harry replied, smiling. "May I call my Mum and ask?"

Two minutes later, he returned from the fireplace and said, "The twins and I are all allowed to go, but Buckbean wants to take us to Gringotts first to show me my vaults. Mum said my parents left me several vaults with gold and other things."

"I'd love to see the vaults too," Hermione replied in apparent excitement. "Mum, please let's meet with Harry's family at Gringotts."

Later in the evening, when the children were already asleep, the Grangers visited Gwenlin and Buckbean, and the two couples of parents decided to spend the day in Diagon Alley together.

HP

While they rode a carriage deeper and deeper into the mountain, Buckbean explained that goblins could just apparate into the vaults; however, since the Grangers were not able to do so, they had to content themselves with the carriages.

"This seems very far," Mr. Granger replied in apparent surprise.

"Yes, it is so far, because among the multiple vaults that Harry owns is one of the Founders of Hogwarts," Buckbean explained. "They're the oldest vaults that Gringotts accommodates and thus are the most far ones."

"The Founders?" Harry queried, giving his father a surprised look.

"Yes, you're the heir of Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw," Buckbean replied, smirking. "Through your birth father."

By now they had reached the vault, and Buckbean motioned Harry to lay his finger against the door. Harry felt a quick sensation, as a small pin shot out from the thick, old door and took one drop of his blood. An instant later, the door opened, apparently after recognising his identity. Together with his siblings and the Grangers, Harry looked around the vault with interest. The vault consisted all kinds of antique looking items; however, what caught Harry's interest was a couple of books on a small shelf that Hermione was staring at.

"Buckbean," she spoke up, absentmindedly skimming a small booklet, "would it be possible to borrow one of these?"

Buckbean smirked. "Since it's Harry's vault, he can take with him or allow you to take with you whatever he wishes."

"Let's take all the books with us then," Harry decided and resolved to come back in order to closer examine the other items at a different time.

When they finally left the Founders' vault, Buckbean informed Harry that he possessed several vaults, which his parents had left, however, that with the exception of one vault, he was only able to access the vaults when he was of age or together with his guardian.

"But you are my guardian Dad," Harry replied in confusion.

"Yes son, together with me you may enter the vaults. Would you like to take a quick look, or shall we postpone it to the next time?"

Harry gave the Grangers a questioning look.

"Let's take a glance to see if they look different from that of the Founders' time," Hermione said, eagerly, causing Harry to grin. _'She really has the best ideas,'_ he thought, happily.

To Harry's surprise, the vault did not look very different, apart from the fact that the many artefacts and even furniture were much newer than those of the old vault. _'And here are more books,'_ he thought, resolving to come back and borrow them after finishing those of the Founders.

Finally, Buckbean showed them the vault that was meant for Harry to use until he was of age. "You don't really need anything though, as we're naturally going to pay for your school supplies," Buckbean informed him.

However, Harry decided to take some of the gold with him, and when Buckbean handed him a small bag to put in the coins, he asked his father for three more bags and handed one bag full with gold each to Hermione, Jane and Kengo.

It was almost lunchtime, when the two families finally returned to the entrance hall of the bank, and Buckbean invited everyone to the goblins' canteen.

After lunch, they headed to Flourish & Blotts to buy the first year's books for Hermione and Harry and to the apothecary to retrieve everything that they needed for their Potions class at Hogwarts, deciding to visit Madam Malkins and Ollivander during the following summer.

"Can we go to the Magical Menagerie?" Hermione asked, pleadingly. "I'd like to have a cat or something like that."

The adults agreed, and soon, they found themselves looking at all possible kinds of animals that they could imagine.

"Oh no, so many children at onccce, and cccertainly no one who understandssss me," Harry suddenly heard a voice.

Turning around in confusion, he saw a colourful snake, her iridescent scales incredibly beautiful. "Hey there," he hissed, "wass it you that wass just talking to me?"

"Oh a sssspeaker," the snake replied in apparent delight, making Harry cast her a questioning look.

"You're the firsssst to understand me in many yearsssss," the snake informed him. "I'm an Aesssculapian Ssserpent."

"You're able to speak Parseltongue," the shop owner suddenly realised, coming over to where Harry was talking to the snake, while his family and the Grangers were watching him in awe. "I'd like to ask you to take her with you then," he continued and explained, "She's very unhappy here, because she can't communicate with anyone, and she's a very valuable snake. She's an Aesculapian Serpent, which means that she possesses a healing venom comparable to phoenix tears. She would be an absolute treasure for any Potions Master. Unfortunately, none of the Potions Masters around are able to speak Parseltongue. Usually, she's worth at least one hundred Galleons, but I'll leave her to you for twenty. I know that she'll be in good hands with you, and maybe you'll be able to make use of her venom."

"I'd like to take her," Harry replied with excitement, giving his parents an anxious look. "Would it be possible..."

"Of course sweetheart," Gwenlin reassured him, while Buckbean confirmed with the shop owner that the snake was not poisonous.

"All right, I'll take her," Harry decided and paid for the snake.

"Her name is Iro, which means 'colour' in Japanese," the shop owner informed him, as he carefully placed the snake around Harry's neck.

_'The name fits well,'_ Harry mused, _'considering that her skin is rainbow coloured.'_ He was brought back to reality, when the snake suddenly thought into his mind.

'Thank you ssso much for taking me with you. I took the liberty of bonding to you, sso that we'll be able to think to each other. Just ssso you know, I can make myself invisible if the need arisesss.'

'That'sss great,' Harry thought back. 'Thanksss for becoming my familiar.'

"Harry," Buckbean spoke up, while they were waiting for Hermione to buy her cat along with everything that she needed for the feline.

Harry looked at his father, noticing in surprise that the goblin seemed exceptionally excited.

"I didn't know that you were able to understand Parseltongue..." Buckbean continued, before he explained, "Snake language. Anyway, there's a whole vault of Salazar Slytherin with books in Parselscript. It belongs to no one, as he doesn't have an heir anymore, and no one is able to read his books anyway. If you're interested, I'll have the vault transferred to your possessions, and you can take a look whenever you have time. Salazar Slytherin was the magical world's most famous Potions Master of all times, and maybe you'll find some valuable potions recipes among his books."

"I'd like that," Harry replied, staring at his father in amazement. "Thank you so much for everything."

"You're so welcome sweetheart," Gwenlin threw in. "We're so glad that you're happy."

_'I wonder what Brightbird will say about Iro and about Slytherin's vault_,' Harry mused, while he followed the others back to Gringotts, where the two families stepped through the Portal that lead them back to Goblin Island, from where the Grangers took the floo home.

HP

To his chagrin, his parents did not allow him to take Iro to school with him.

"It's a snake Harry, and not only your classmates but also the teachers might be afraid at her sight," Buckbean said in a firm voice, of which Harry knew that it did not allow any contradiction.

"She can turn herself invisible though..."

"... and imagine what fun we could have with her," the twins tried to help their brother - in vain.

However, when Harry returned to the Potions classroom in the afternoon, he took Iro with her and introduced her to Brightbird, who was extremely excited to learn about his pupil's valuable familiar.

"She might help us to find a cure," he said, thoughtfully.

However, by the time Harry received his own Hogwarts letter, which he answered immediately, using the school owl who had brought it for his reply, they were none the wiser how to make a cure.

HP

When McGonagall, Hooch and Pomfrey came for the birthday party, accompanied by Flitwick as usual, Hermione and Harry bombarded them with questions about Hogwarts, causing the twins to let out uncharacteristic sighs.

"Hogwarts must be a wonderful place..."

"... It's just too bad..."

"... that we're not able to study there as well."

Professor Flitwick shot the twins a surprised look. "Would you want to attend Hogwarts?" he asked, curiously. "Maybe it is possible. Let me speak with the Headmaster. Deputy Headmistress, may I ask for your opinion please?"

A small smile flashed over McGonagall's face, before she replied, "It would be unusual; however, if we have a half goblin as professor and Head of House, I don't see a reason why we couldn't have two goblin students attend Hogwarts. Filius, let's speak with Albus tonight and see how he reacts." Turning to Gwenlin, she queried, "Would you and Buckbean allow the twins to attend our school?"

"Of course," Gwenlin replied, gently. "They and Harry and also Hermione are so close that it would be very sad for Jane and Kengo to remain here without them." She remained thoughtful for an instant, before she asked, "Would they be able to come home sometimes during the weekend?"

"Usually, our students may only go home during the holidays," McGonagall replied, sternly. "However, as I have already told Harry, as long as Professor Flitwick, Madam Pomfrey or I know where he is and no one else misses him, it will be all right. As far as I heard, he wants to continue playing on the children's team here. The same goes for the twins of course, although no one except for the four of us," she pointed to her colleagues, " should know about it."

"Excuse us Professor..."

"... but how is it possible..."

"... to vanish from the school..."

"... without anyone noticing?" the twins queried, simultaneously quirking eyebrows.

"I believe that this won't be a problem," Pomfrey, who had quietly followed the conversation so far, suddenly spoke up, causing everyone but her colleagues to stare at her in surprise.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind feedback here and on Facebook!_


	7. Chapter 7

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__Thanks to my brilliant beta ____JB5391! _I am not a native speaker of English.

* * *

"I have discussed the matter of Harry's illness with my colleagues," Pomfrey began to explain, "and we've made a decision. Knowing from his parents how badly he is affected during the night of the full moon, we believe that it's hard enough for him to fight the disease and that he doesn't need the unnecessary stress of hiding from his classmates how miserable he feels. Therefore, we have decided to assign him one of the small rooms behind the hospital wing, where he can stay during the whole school year, not only around the full moon in order to prevent anyone from thinking that he was a werewolf. We still have to decide on a proper cover story for the Headmaster and our colleagues that would make this special treatment necessary, however, that won't be a problem. Of course Harry's room will be open to his friends, and he and the twins could use it to apparate home for a short while, provided that I'll be informed."

_'I won't be able to live in a dormitory,'_ Harry thought, sadly, although he knew that Pomfrey's suggestion would be the very best for him.

Too soon for Harry's liking, the interesting afternoon passed, and the four visitors from Hogwarts excused themselves.

"At dinner, we'll speak with Professor Dumbledore, and you'll hear from us later on," McGonagall promised, before she stepped into the fireplace.

HP

Unfortunately, the professor returned to Goblin Island a few hours later, wearing an exasperated expression.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "but Professor Dumbledore believes that the Wizengamot would never allow two goblin students into Hogwarts, especially as it would be too late since the application deadline for the new school year was today." Seeing the twins look at her in clear disappointment, she added, "I'll still try to convince him to bring your case to the Wizengamot; however, please don't get your hopes up. I'm sorry that I don't have better news."

"That's all right Professor..."

"It's not your fault anyway," the twins replied, smiling at the Deputy Headmistress.

"Please take good care..."

"... of our little brother then."

"That I can promise you," McGonagall replied, smiling back at the twins who immensely reminded her of the Weasley twins, who had just finished their second Hogwarts year.

HP

During the last four weeks before he had to leave for Hogwarts, Harry intensified his potions research together with Brightbird and spent lots of time practising apparating from one side of Goblin Island to the other side and back.

"You also need to practise apparating over a longer distance," Gwenlin reminded him one day. "Why don't you try to apparate to Hogsmeade, the magical village near Hogwarts?"

"That's a good idea," Harry agreed and fire-called Hermione, making an appointment to meet the girl at Hogsmeade the following day.

HP

The two eleven-year-olds had agreed to meet in front of the bookshop in Hogsmeade. Harry arrived at ten minutes to ten, only to realise that Hermione choose the same instant to pop up in front of himself. 'Great timing,' he thought, casting his friend a happy smile.

"Hi Harry. That worked well," Hermione spoke up, seemingly contented with their apparition abilities. "Shall we have a look into the bookshop before we explore the rest of Hogsmeade?"

_'Typically Hermione,'_ Harry thought and readily agreed.

Two hours and two robe pockets full with shrunken books later, the two friends emerged from the shop and walk down the main street, eagerly inspecting the shops on both sides of the road.

"I like Hogsmeade," Hermione said, sighing. "Too bad that we have to wait until our third year, before we'll be able to come here on Saturdays."

"That's true," Harry agreed, "but maybe we can just apparate here sometimes."

The girl cast him an incredulous look. "Harry! Do you want to risk being expelled from Hogwarts?" she asked, reproachfully. "It's no problem to apparate to Goblin Island or to my parents' house, but we can't just apparate to a place where the teachers could see us."

"Yes, you're right," Harry had to admit and pulled his friend into the joke shop in order to find an adequate gift for Jane and Kengo. After looking around the shelves that were filled with various real looking animals like spiders and other creatures for about twenty minutes, they decided on a bag with assorted drops. The sweets had varying effects, and it said on the package that everything would wear off after an hour.

"Let's see if we can get a glimpse at Hogwarts," Hermione suggested, when they finally left the joke shop. "I really can't wait."

Harry chuckled but readily accompanied the girl in the direction of where they assumed the school to be. "I can't wait either. The only problem is where we're going to get sorted. What if the Hat sorts us in different Houses?"

Hermione let out a pensive sigh. "I've thought about that, too," she admitted, "but remember what Madam Pomfrey told you about getting your own room behind her office. That way we can always meet in your room and do our homework together."

"Yes that's true," Harry replied, feeling very much consoled by her reasoning. "It's only one more week and then we'll know anyway," he said, soothingly. 'If there only wasn't the full moon right before the first of September,' he thought, unaware of the fact that he voiced his thought.

"When exactly is the full moon?" Hermione queried, sounding alarmed.

"On the thirty-first of August," Harry replied, dully. "Oh well, at least it's not on the first of September. That would be much worse."

"Oh no Harry," his best friend said, compassionately, suggesting, "Why don't you skip the train ride and just apparate here and mix with everyone when the train arrives?"

Harry let out a snort, before he explained that he was used to attend classes on the day after the full moon.

"Yes, that I know," Hermione said, impatiently. "Nevertheless it would be easier for you to just apparate here."

However, Harry decided to take the Hogwarts Express just like all the other students.

HP

To Harry's and his mother's surprise, Madam Pomfrey came to visit Harry in the morning of the full moon. Since classes at the goblin school had already commenced, the twins were at school and Harry was lying on his bed, reading one of the books written by the Founders of Hogwarts. He looked up, astonished, when the Healer entered the room.

"Hello Madam Pomfrey," he said, giving the kind witch a weak smile.

"I'm sorry to disturb you when you're obviously not feeling well," Pomfrey spoke up, returning the smile.

"You're not disturbing me at all," Harry replied and motioned the Healer to take a seat, which the Mediwitch accepted.

"I came here to discuss with you how to proceed concerning your illness," she began to explain. "I'm sorry that my planning took me so long, but I've done some research, as our plan has to be foolproof in order to be believable. The Headmaster is not exactly stupid."

"I understand," Harry said, slowly. "He won't find out, will he?"

"He won't," Pomfrey replied, reassuringly, "especially not since Professors McGonagall and Flitwick are on our side and will help us if necessary. Tomorrow at dinner, I need you to feign feeling unwell. Sorry Harry," she interrupted herself, "I know that you won't have to feign. Anyway, please tell your Head of House or your older housemates that you're not feeling well, so that someone will take you to me."

"All right," Harry said, wearily, thinking, _'That won't be too difficult.'_

"Very well," the Healer continued, smiling. "As I said, I've done some research together with Healer O'Brien, who is the Head Healer of St. Mungo's and a good friend of mine. I've told him about your case without telling him your name." She gave Harry a sharp look, before she asked, "Are you feeling well enough to listen to me, or would you prefer that I explain everything to you at a later time?"

"It's not so bad yet, please go on Madame," Harry replied, focussing on the Healer's words.

"All right then," Pomfrey continued. "We've found a very rare and barely known magical illness, which is called the Marga Dragonis. The symptoms are quite similar to those of the Blue Moon disease, however, it doesn't appear on certain times like the Blue Moon disease but can flare up at any time and is not curable so far. It's very dangerous though, as it might affect the patient's lungs, which is most likely to occur during the night, and in the worst case the person's magic. Therefore, the patient has to be monitored on a constant basis, especially during the night, which makes it believable that I want you to stay in a room in the hospital wing instead of a dormitory."

"To me that sounds fool proof," Harry replied, smiling. "Thank you so much for taking so much trouble for me."

"You're no trouble at all dear," Pomfrey replied kindly. "Just see to it that you come to see me tomorrow night after the Welcoming Feast."

"I will," Harry promised, feeling very relieved and grateful towards the kind Healer.

"Are you excited?" Pomfrey enquired in a soft voice.

"Yes, very," Harry admitted, "especially about the Sorting." Seeing that Pomfrey gave him an amused look, he added, "I hope that I'm going to be sorted into the same House as Hermione."

"I remember how excited I was at that time," Pomfrey replied, and her features softened some. "But remember, since you're going to have your own room, it'll be easy for you to have friends from different Houses." Seeing Harry nod his agreement, she stood up in determination. "All right then, I'm going to let you rest now. Take care and I'll see you tomorrow." She gave him a sharp look. "If you don't feel well enough to attend the Welcoming Feast, you can even come to see me beforehand. You can always be sorted at a later time."

Harry vehemently shook his head. "Definitely not," he replied, chuckling. "Thank you so much for everything."

The Healer merely smiled and left the room.

HP

After a horrible night, during which his parents - as usual - had taken turns sitting on the edge of his bed comforting him, Harry tiredly took the Floo to the Grangers in order to travel to King's Cross together with Hermione and her parents by car.

"Harry, today's the day," Hermione greeted him in apparent excitement, making Harry laugh in spite of still feeling miserable.

"I'm very happy to go to Hogwarts too, but I'm also going to miss Goblin Island," he admitted in a small voice.

_'I'm not going to be homesick though, especially as I'm going to go home for the Quidditch matches and if possible for the practice,'_ a small voice spoke up from the back of his mind. To his relief, the trainer of the children's team had promised that he would be allowed to play in the matches even if he couldn't manage to attend practice, knowing that Harry had never lost a game so far. _'I hope I'll also find the time to go home and help Brightbird with his research,' _Harry mused.

Together with his very excited friend, her kneazle cat and Iro, who was curled up around his neck, Harry finally boarded the Hogwarts Express, where the two friends found a compartment just for themselves.

A few minutes later, a boy hesitantly entered the compartment. "May I sit here?" he asked, seemingly nervous.

"Of course, come in," Hermione replied, gently. "We're first years as well."

"I'm Neville Longbottom," the boy introduced himself and his toad, before Hermione and Harry told him their names and showed their pets.

Another, red-haired boy came in and fled immediately upon seeing Harry's colourful snake; however, after a short while, the compartment was full with first-years, who spent the train travel talking, reading and searching for Neville's toad that took every opportunity to try getting away from the boy. Only Harry, who was still feeling awful, remained fairly quiet and continued to listen to the other children's conversation and thoroughly enjoyed himself.

HP

Together with Neville Longbottom and Susan Bones, Harry and Hermione boarded a boat that slowly took the soon-to-be-first-years over the lake to the castle that looked impressive and beautiful at once.

_'I can't believe it, I'm at Hogwarts,'_ Harry thought, while he looked at the castle's towers with interest. The thought _'I'd rather be in my own bed at home now talking with the twins'_ pushed itself to the forefront of his mind; however, Harry shoved it back quickly. He toyed with the thought of unobtrusively taking his potions before the Welcoming Feast, however, knowing that he had to go to Madam Pomfrey after dinner, he dismissed the thought, knowing that he really had to feel miserable in order to ask his Head of House to take him to the hospital wing. 'I hope we'll both end up in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw,' he thought, absentmindedly climbing up the stairs together with his new classmates.

A small smile played on his lips when he realised that it was none other but Professor McGonagall who greeted the first-years and shortly informed them about the four Houses, before she motioned them to wait a moment and left the students.

All of a sudden, a blond haired, pale boy addressed Harry and introduced himself as Draco Malfoy. He was surrounded by two other boys, Crabbe and Goyle.

_'Draco looks nice, but the other two seem a bit stupid,'_ Harry thought. However, before he could speak with Draco, McGonagall returned and proceeded to lead them into the Great Hall. _'Oh right, here's the ceiling that Rowena Ravenclaw charmed,'_ he realised, having read about it in Ravenclaw's diary.

Together with the other first-years, he stood in front of the Head Table, waiting for the Deputy Headmistress to call his name. _'That must be Snape, the Potions Master,'_ he thought, glancing at a tall man who cast him a grumpy look. _'There's Madam Pomfrey, but I have to feign not knowing her. I wonder..._'

He was brought out of his musings, when Hermione was called to the Hat.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind feedback here and on Facebook!_


	8. Chapter 8

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

Almost as soon as Professor McGonagall had placed the Sorting Hat on Hermione's head, the Hat shouted, "Ravenclaw."

_'She's in Flitwick's House,'_ Harry thought, slightly envying his best friend. _'I just hope I'll manage to get into Ravenclaw as well.'_ Right now he could not wait to sit at any House table just to rest his still aching body. However, the Sorting seemed to drag on infinitely. He absentmindedly registered that Neville was sorted into Gryffinor and Draco into Slytherin, before McGonagall finally called his name.

"Harry Potter," the Scottish lioness read from her roll, causing the Headmaster to slightly lean forward to get a look at the boy of his attention.

Harry inwardly sighed in relief, when he sat on the stool and the Deputy Headmistress placed the Hat on his head. Suddenly, a faint voice penetrated his mind.

'Hmmm, this is difficult. What am I going to do with you? You seem to fit into any House. Maybe I should just sort you into the hospital wing considering what you're hiding.'

_'Noo, Ravenclaw,'_ Harry thought, devastated, jerking up in surprise when the Hat replied to his thought.

'Ravenclaw would be an option, but you'd do well in Slytherin. Oh well then, let's make it...' The Hat interrupted itself only to shout into the Hall, "Ravenclaw."

_'Thank Merlin,'_ Harry thought, as he handed the Hat back to McGonagall, casting the professor a small smile.

HP

Harry headed over to the Ravenclaw table, where he sat between Hermione and a boy who introduced himself as Terry Boot. While McGonagall brought away the Sorting Hat, the first-years eagerly began to introduce themselves to each other, and Harry looked at the High table that was quite near to where he was sitting. First of all, the Headmaster caught his eye. Sitting in the centre of the High table in a large gold chair was Dumbledore, the oldest wizard that Harry had ever seen. _'Dumbledore,'_ Harry thought, resolving to be very careful towards the famous wizard with the long, white beard.

A little further up the table, Harry saw Flitwick, who eagerly waved at him, and Pomfrey, who smiled at him, encouragingly.

The conversation at the Ravenclaw table stopped abruptly, when McGonagall returned and the Headmaster rose from his seat. Dumbledore happily greeted the students in the shortest speech that Harry could imagine, before he opened the banquet.

Harry was not hungry at all and contented himself downing several glasses full of pumpkin juice.

"Harry, are you feeling all right?" Hermione suddenly asked, eyeing him in apparent concern.

"Of course," Harry replied, resolving to let the girl in on Pomfrey's instruction on the way to the Ravenclaw common room later on.

HP

All of a sudden, the ghosts floated into the hall. To Harry's surprise, each House seemed to have its own ghost. In the case of Ravenclaw it was the so-called Grey Lady, Helena Ravenclaw.

After she greeted the older students and exchanged some words with them that showed Harry that everyone seemed to like the ghost, she turned to the first-years. "Hello and welcome to Ravenclaw House," she greeted them and enquired, "I heard that a heir of mine has come to Hogwarts today. Is it one of you?"

Harry almost cringed under the ghost's sharp look, when Hermione gently laid her hand on his right arm and said, "Harry, that must be you."

Harry couldn't help blushing as he felt the whole table stare at him at Hermione's revelation.

"I think I'm the heir of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw," he said in a small voice.

"I'm happy to see you Harry. You're the first heir of mine in our House. Thanks for letting yourself be sorted into our House."

"I'm glad to be here," Harry replied, smiling.

"Very well," the ghost continued, "I wish to show you something. Meet me in the entrance hall right after your last afternoon class tomorrow."

"All right," Harry replied, tiredly. Knowing that he had to go and see Madam Pomfrey and wanting nothing more than to go to bed as early as possible, he slowly cancelled his concealment charms, causing the ghost to give him a concerned look.

"Are you feeling all right?" she enquired, hovering right opposite of him.

"I think Harry's not feeling so well," Hermione answered on his behalf, apparently understanding that he had taken off his concealment charms for a reason.

"Come with me then. I'll take you to the hospital wing," Helena offered and slowly floated in the direction of the doors.

Confirming with a glance at the High table that Madam Pomfrey had already left the feast, Harry followed the ghost out of the Great Hall, feeling very much comforted by the fact that Hermione hurried to catch up with him.

"Harry, are you feeling worse than usual?" she asked in concern.

"No no, everything is all right," Harry whispered and quietly informed her about Madam Pomfrey's instructions.

_'I really like Hogwarts. It's awesome,'_ he thought, looking at the moving paintings in amazement. It was not a long walk to the hospital wing, which to Harry's relief was completely deserted.

"Madam Pomfrey is probably in her office," the Grey Lady informed them, pointing to the office at the other end of the room. "Get well soon Harry, and if you can't come to the entrance hall after classes tomorrow, I'll come and look for you."

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Ravenclaw," Harry replied, causing the ghost to chuckle.

"No one calls me that sweetie," she informed him. "Just call me Helena."

"All right Helena, thank you," Harry repeated, while Hermione hurried to fetch Madam Pomfrey.

HP

"Hello dears and congratulation to your Sorting into Ravenclaw," the Healer greeted them, smiling.

"Thank you Madame, we're so happy about it," Hermione was the first to reply, causing Harry to nod his consent.

"Come on Harry, make yourself comfortable on the first bed here," Pomfrey instructed him, apparently realising that the boy could not keep himself upright much longer. When Harry complied, she magically exchanged his school clothes with stripy hospital pyjamas and explained, "I will first do a quick check-up and give you your potions, before I'll fetch Professors Dumbledore, Flitwick and McGonagall and explain to them what I told you yesterday. Afterwards, I hope that the Headmaster agrees with my suggestion to make you stay overnight in one of the teacher's rooms. All right dear?"

"Yes, thank you Madame," Harry replied, feeling slightly anxious at the thought of having to face the Headmaster so soon.

"I'll be with you," Hermione whispered in a soothing voice, while the Healer began to wave her wand over Harry in a complicated movement.

The two first-years continued to talk in small voice, before Pomfrey explained to her colleagues what she had told Harry the previous day. _'McGonagall and Flitwick know the truth, this is only to convince the Headmaster,'_ Harry told himself in order to calm himself. He was just about to relax and drift off to sleep, when Dumbledore directly addressed him.

"Harry, did the Dursleys not notice that you're suffering from the Marga Dragonis disease?"

Harry stared at the Headmaster in surprise. "No sir," he replied in a soft voice.

"How would they?" Hermione threw in, sounding very upset. "They completely ignored Harry when he was ill and locked him into his cupboard and made him do chores. I don't think they ever took him to a doctor or a Healer. We've been neighbours from when we were very small, so I know Harry very well."

"Is that so?" Dumbledore queried, baby blue eyes looking at the boy.

"Yes sir," Harry confirmed, making the old wizard sigh.

"I'm sorry my boy," the Headmaster replied, "but there are blood wards around your aunt's house that ensure your safety. Therefore, it was important that you lived with your aunt's family, and it's still necessary that you return to your relatives during the holidays."

"I understand sir," Harry replied, carefully keeping all emotions out of his voice.

"Very well, Poppy, Filius, I agree with Poppy's suggestion of assigning Harry one of the teacher's rooms," Dumbledore said to his colleagues, before he excused himself, assuring Harry and Hermione that they could come to him if they encountered any problems at any time.

Only when the Headmaster had left the hospital wing, Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance. _'Come to him when we have problems... yes, sure,'_ he thought in sarcasm, absentmindedly following Pomfrey through her office into a small single room.

"I'm sorry Harry, but you'll understand that we couldn't prepare this room for you in advance," Pomfrey spoke up, before she instructed him to lie down and go to sleep. "The house-elves will bring your luggage here later on."

At the same time, McGonagall and Flitwick waved their wands around the small hospital room. While Flitwick changed the crisp white colour to different tones and shades of blue, McGonagall transfigured the furniture into a wardrobe, a bookshelf and a desk surrounded by a couple of comfortable looking chairs.

"It might be a good opportunity to overcome the House rivalry if you have friends in other Houses and sometimes study together here," she said to Hermione in a small voice.

"Yes Professor, that's what Harry and I thought when Madam Pomfrey told us about this room," the girl replied, eagerly.

"Very well Ms. Granger, I shall accompany you to the Ravenclaw common room," Flitwick suddenly spoke up.

"That would be great, as I have no idea where it is," Hermione only now realised. "Good night Professors, Harry. May I come in the morning to fetch Harry for breakfast?" she then turned to the Healer, who was observing her in clear amusement.

"Of course dear," she said kindly. "I'll ask the elves to make a connecting door from this room out into the Hall, so that you don't have to go through the hospital wing to get here."

Before Hermione had even left the room, Harry was already fast asleep, a small smile playing on his lips.

HP

When Harry woke up in the morning, he noticed that there was a large window covering most of the wall that was opposite of his bed. It allowed him to see the grounds along with the lake and parts of the Forbidden Forest. _'This is great,'_ Harry thought, observing the Giant Squid play in the early morning sunshine in amazement. Opposite of the door, through which he had entered the room yesterday, two more doors had appeared overnight, and Harry curiously climbed out of his bed to check out where they led. Nodding in understanding, he realised that one of them allowed entrance into a small but comfortable looking bathroom, while the other led out into a corridor. He took a few steps into the corridor, however, he had to admit that he could not recall having seen that specific corridor the evening before. Only when he returned to his room, he realised that there was a portrait of an older witch guarding his door.

"Good morning Madam," he said, uncertainly, giving the witch a curious look.

"Good morning my boy," the woman replied, gently. "I'm Helga Hufflepuff, and Madam Pomfrey has asked me to guard your room. Please choose a password for this door."

_'A password?'_ Harry thought in confusion. "My room?" he suggested, unsurely.

"All right dear. Well, you can change it at any time," Helga replied, rolling her eyes at his inventiveness. "Now you should go and get ready for the day. Breakfast is going to commence in thirty minutes."

"All right Madam Hufflepuff," Harry replied and obediently stepped into the room.

"Just call me Helga dear," Helga informed him. "I'm glad to see that you look better than last night." Seeing that the boy gave her a questioning look, she explained, "There's a huge portrait in Madam Pomfrey's office, from where I overlook the whole hospital wing, and I saw you when you arrived yesterday." After a few seconds' break, she added, "Just so you know, I am aware of what's wrong with you. Madam Pomfrey told me everything, so you don't have to hide anything from me."

"Oh that's good," Harry said in relief. "Thank you Helga."

HP

"Harry, this is very near the Ravenclaw common room," Hermione informed him, excitedly, when they stepped out into the corridor on their way to the Great Hall thirty minutes later. After just a few steps, she pointed to a portrait on the right hand side. "Here Harry, this is the Ravenclaw common room. The password is 'Instantia', which means as much as constant diligence."

HP

At breakfast, his housemates questioned Harry about his illness and pitied him because he was not allowed to sleep in the dormitory. They were all very friendly, however, not liking the attention at all, Harry felt relieved, when Flitwick approached their table and handed out the time tables.

_'I have to be careful to call him Professor and not just Flitwick like we do on Goblin Island,'_ Harry thought, absentmindedly letting his eyes wander over the time table.

"We have Potions in the first morning class together with the Hufflepuffs," Hermione spoke up, alerted. "As far as I heard, the Potions classroom is in the dungeons, so we probably need to leave if we want to be there on time."

"Don't worry, firsties, I'll take you to the Potions classroom," a boy, who was having his breakfast not far from where the first-years were sitting together, spoke up. "I'm Roger Davies, a third-year," he introduced himself. "We have Charms in the first morning class, and Professor Flitwick excused me for a few minutes, so that I can show you the way."

"Thank you so much Roger," Hermione replied on behalf of her classmates. "Should we go?"

"Yes, let's go," Roger confirmed and told the younger students on the way that the Potions Professor was very strict and they should better behave during his class.

HP

With mixed feelings, Harry followed his classmates to the dungeons. On the one hand, ever since he had entered the goblin school, Potions had been his favourite subject. However, on the other, he remembered well that Professor McGonagall had said that Professor Snape despised him because of his resemblance to his birth father. Deep in thoughts, he entered the Potions classroom with Hermione on his heels. Seeing Susan Bones, a Hufflepuff first year, who had shared the compartment on the Hogwarts Express with them, sitting alone in the first row, Harry and Hermione sat next to her. Unbeknownst to the two friends, this had the effect that the first-years of both Houses took their seats in a completely mixed up manner - a first in the Potions classroom.

Finally, Snape entered the room, although Harry had more the impression as if the tall wizard swept down on them. The professor quirked an eyebrow in apparent surprise upon seeing the two Houses uncharacteristically mixed up, however, he did not comment on the matter but silently let onyx eyes wander around the classroom. Finally, he began a long and seemingly well trained monologue about the art of brewing Potions. He spoke in a small voice; however, the class was so silent that every word could be heard.

After listening to the professor's speech for a few minutes, Harry could not help his thoughts drift off. _'As much as I like Hogwarts, I wished I could still have classes with Brightbird,'_ Harry mused. _'He's so much nicer than Snape. Oh well, at least Flitwick told me that Snape is a great Potions Master. Maybe I can learn something that'll help me to find the cure.'_

He was brought back to reality when Snape suddenly towered over him.

"The Hufflepuffs are known for their laziness and disinterest that makes them fail their OWLs," the professor sneered, but from the Ravenclaws I expect that they take notes. But maybe as our new celebrity, you believe that you're above the rules."

_'What?'_ Harry thought, having no clue what the professor wanted from him. However, he should know better soon enough.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments. My muse appreciates them greatly! _


	9. Chapter 9

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

"Potter," the Potions Master bellowed, "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"A sleeping potion, also called the Draught of Living Death sir," Harry replied as if it had been the easiest question imaginable for a first-year student in his first Potions class.

He felt all eyes of his classmates stare at him in apparent amazement, when the Potions Master continued to bombard him with questions, which were getting more difficult as the minutes passed.

"Keep calm Harry. Don't let him get to you," Hermione whispered in a soothing voice that made Harry smile and the professor see red.

"Five points from Ravenclaw for your insolence," he barked at Hermione, before turning back to Harry.

"Out. Now," he bellowed, only to add, "Wait in front of the classroom door."

While the professor made the first-years brew an easy healing potion, Harry sat on the floor in front of the Potions classroom, feeling very annoyed on the one hand, slightly reassured that he was not missing anything important on the other hand.

Finally, the classroom door opened with a bang. "Accompany me to the Headmaster Potter. Now," the professor barked, while his classmates passed them, giving Harry compassionate looks.

From the corner of his eyes, Harry saw that Hermione ran behind them. "Professor please..." she addressed the Slytherin Head, who merely took twenty more points from Ravenclaw and shooed the girl away.

Having no clue what he had done except for flawlessly answering all of the professor's questions, Harry anxiously hurried behind the Potions Master through a flight of corridors until they came to stand in front of a gargoyle.

"Mars bars," the professor said, impatiently, causing the gargoyle to open for them.

Standing behind the tall wizard on a moving staircase, Harry once again wondered what he could have done wrong, before they finally reached the Headmaster's office.

The old wizard was standing behind his desk and greeted them warmly. "Severus, Harry, how nice of you to visit me on this fine morning. Would you care for a lemon drop?"

While Snape declined the offered sweet wearing a disgusted expression, Harry accepted one, not sure why he wanted to provoke the Potions Master by doing so.

"What brings you here my boys?" Dumbledore finally asked, inviting them to take a seat.

"Potter saw fit to use Legilimency on me," Snape informed the Headmaster, sounding grim.

"I did what?" Harry queried in shock. "I didn't do anything."

"Slowly my boys," Dumbledore threw in, calmingly. "Now Severus, please tell me from the beginning what you think Harry might have done."

"Potter was inattentive in my class, and I asked him a few questions," Snape informed the Headmaster. "Strangely, he answered all questions correctly, even those that are seventh year material. How can a first-year, who has been raised by Muggles, know the answers to NEWT level questions?"

"Will you enlighten us Harry?" Dumbledore queried, turning to the boy. "Why do you know so much about Potions?"

Harry shrugged. "Because I'm very interested in Potions," he replied, simply.

"Well Severus, then I suggest that you're happy to have a student who is so interested in your subject," the Headmaster said, pleasantly, and dismissed them both.

_'Thank Merlin,'_ Harry thought, when he followed Snape out of the Headmaster's office.

When they passed the gargoyle, Snape once more turned to him. "Even if the Headmaster believes you for some reason which is beyond my understanding, I don't. Detention with me tonight at seven o'clock sharp."

"Yes sir," Harry replied and slowly continued to walk, glad that the Potions Master was so fast that he was out of sight within seconds. _'Now I have to go to the Transfiguration classroom, but I don't have a clue where that is,'_ he thought and decided to ask Madam Pomfrey.

"Oh dear," she said after hearing about his encounter with the Potions Master. "You and he will be in for a fun time once he discovers that you don't only have an extensive knowledge about Potions but are also a fantastic brewer. Just remember sweetie," she continued in a soft voice, "that I can get you out of your detention if you don't feel well."

Harry profusely thanked the Healer, knowing that he would only take the witch upon her offer if he was really feeling miserable and also realising that this evening's detention would probably not be his last detention in the Potions classroom.

To Harry's relief, Madam Pomfrey accompanied him to the Transfiguration classroom and handed him a small parchment. "Give this to Professor McGonagall, so that she knows why you're late," she said kindly.

HP

Transfiguration was very interesting, even if it was easy for Harry to transfigure the match that was lying on the desk in front of him into a needle.

"Well done, five points each to Ravenclaw," McGonagall commended Hermione and him with a rare smile playing on her lips.

After the last morning class was over, Harry toyed with the thought of apparating back to Goblin Island in order to speak with Brightbird about Snape. _'Maybe he knows him and can give me some advice how to get along with him,'_ he thought.

However, Hermione would not let him go. "Harry, do you really want to get into even more trouble?" she queried in apparent disbelief. "Detention on the first day of classes is already a record."

"That's not my fault," Harry replied, heatedly.

"I know that," Hermione reassured him, "but the professors don't, apart from McGonagall and Flitwick. Anyway, give him a few days to get used to the fact that you're not a beginner in Potions before you speak with Brightbird."

Inwardly groaning, Harry had to admit to himself that Hermione was right. _'I'm not a baby that runs home as soon as something happens,_' he thought. During the afternoon classes, he tried to keep the thought about his detention out of his mind in order to concentrate on the tasks ahead.

_'Maybe he'll let me brew a potion,'_ he thought, as he walked down to the entrance hall in order to meet the Ravenclaw ghost after his last afternoon class.

HP

"Hello Harry, I'm glad you're better today," Helena greeted him, casting him a warm smile.

_'I should tell her the truth,'_ Harry thought, however, dismissed the idea for the time being, knowing that he couldn't talk about confidential matters in the corridors of Hogwarts.

"I wish to show you to our quarters," Helena informed him and led him through the corridor in front of the Ravenclaw common room as well as his own room, until they reached a very dusty corridor just a little ahead of Harry's room. It was very dusty and barely recognisable as a corridor. "The password to get through this wall of mist is 'Wisdom of the Raven'," Helena informed him.

Harry uttered the password, and to his surprise, the corridor in front of him was as clear as all the other corridors.

"Only the heirs of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor and their spouses are allowed in here," Helena explained, only to add, grinning, "Feel free to bring your future wife here."

"My future wife?" Harry repeated in confusion, giving the ghost a sharp look. "Do you already know whom I'm going to marry when I'm grown up?" he queried, curiously eyeing the paintings on both sides of the corridor.

Helena smiled. "Oh yes my dear. You must know that my mother Rowena is a Seer, and she told me everything about you."

"Who is it?" Harry enquired, curiously, causing Helena to roll her eyes.

"That's for you to find out sweetie," she replied, smirking. "By the way, I was only joking. You may bring your friends here as well, however, the wall of mist is charmed to only allow real friends of our family members entrance. If someone pretends to be your friend but in fact is not your friend, he or she won't be able to get through the wall, even if the person knows the password."

With that she floated ahead and showed Harry the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor quarters, beginning with the office, where she introduced him to her mother, Rowena Ravenclaw.

The quarters were much larger than Harry had anticipated. There was a relatively large, old fashioned living room with dark wooden chairs that were arranged in a circle around an antique looking oak table. Only the dark blue sofa near one of the walls looked newer and very comfortable. While one side of the room was completely covered by a large window that allowed the view onto the lake and the Quidditch pitch, the room was overlooked by a life-size portrait of the four Founders on the opposite wall. Adjacent to the living room were several bedrooms as well as a modern looking bathroom. Further along the secret corridor, Helena showed Harry a huge library, a a sword fighting and duelling room and finally a fully equipped potions lab.

"Since we lived here until about nine hundred years ago, several heirs of mine have stayed in these rooms," Helena explained. "One of them was a Potions Master and has added the potions lab to our quarters. Oh well, feel free to come and go as you please. You could even stay in our quarters if your Head of House allows you to do so."

Too soon for Harry's liking, the hour until dinner passed and he had to leave the interesting looking quarters.

"Helena, may I use the potions lab to do some research?" he asked on their way back through the secret corridor.

"Of course," Helena replied, smiling. "Be careful that you don't do anything dangerous without supervision though."

"I will," Harry promised, before he hurried to the Great Hall, eager to tell Hermione of the interesting rooms, as soon as they had an undisturbed minute.

HP

After dinner, Harry trailed towards the dungeons, letting out a few long sighs.

=What'sss wrong Harry?= Iro, who had been curled up around his neck, invisible, almost the whole day, spoke up, causing Harry to sigh again.

=Ah it'ss just annoying to have detention, let alone in the Potionss classsroom,= he hissed back.

"He should be very nicce to you considering that you have an Aesssculapian Serpent as your familiar,= Iro replied, smirking. "My venom would be very valuable for him."

By now they had reached the dungeons, and Harry hesitantly knocked at the door to the Potions classroom.

Mere instants later, the Potions Master opened the door, looking at Harry with a blank expression. "Since you missed this morning's potion, you will brew it now," he informed the boy. With a flick of his wand, the recipe appeared on the board.

Staring at the board, Harry realised in relief that it was a very easy healing potion, which was the base for many other healing potions, which he had so often brewed for Inken during the last few years.

"Yes sir," he replied and immediately set to work, barely paying attention to the professor who proceeded to sit at his desk, not far from Harry.

HP

Severus let himself sink into his chair, his Potions Monthly open on his desk. However, he noticed soon that he didn't even have to pretend reading, as the boy did not pay any attention to him. The child once read the recipe, nodded, and set up his cauldron in a - as Severus had to admit to himself - proficient way. Severus observed with a combination of amazement and shock how the boy prepared the ingredients, absolutely perfectly and without consulting the recipe as much as once. Had he hoped that he would be able to ridicule the boy and get his revenge for the occurrences in the morning, he was sorely disappointed after observing the boy for five minutes.

Finally, Harry began to brew the potion, and Severus pondered how he could manage to distract him in a matter that he would fail the task.

"Mr. Potter," he addressed the first-year at a time, when the boy had to stir seven and a half times counter clockwise.

"Yes?" the boy queried without even looking up from his cauldron.

"It's yes sir," Severus corrected the boy, grumpily.

"Yes sir," Harry repeated, as he carefully added the moon fern.

"Where did you learn to brew potions?" Severus queried, knowing that this was the most difficult step in the generally easy potion.

"From my teacher," Harry replied, shortly.

"What teacher?" Severus queried. "As far as I know you grew up with your Muggle relatives, and..."

Before he knew what happened, the boy cast a stasis charm at the potion and turned to view him.

"Professor," he spoke up, politely. "It is not of anyone's business where I learned about Potions. However, I came to your class in order to further study Potions. May I please now finish my potion... undisturbed?"

Severus merely nodded and turned back to his Potions Monthly. _'He knows how to brew,_' he realised. _'I can't give him zero points for this. Nevertheless, it's unsettling that he is so good, and I really want to know where he learned it.'_

HP

Harry inwardly sighed in relief, when the professor finally left him in peace, so that he could finish the easy potion.

"Finished sir," he announced, wondering what to do with the potion.

Snape rose from his seat, where he had been engrossed in a journal, and stuck his long nose into Harry's cauldron, sniffing at the potion whilst eyeing it sharply. He then waved his hand towards one of the shelves and instructed the boy, "Bottle the potion and take it to Madam Pomfrey for use in the hospital wing."

"Yes sir," Harry replied and fetched a batch of empty phials of the correct size. _'Oh no, how can I bottle it magically using my wand?'_ he thought, aware of the fact that no one could know that he was capable of wandless magic.

"Excuse me sir," he hesitantly addressed the professor, "would you mind teaching me the spell to bottle the potion?"

"You don't know?" Snape queried, causing Harry to shake his head.

"No sir," he admitted in a small voice.

"Pity," the professor sneered. "Clearly fame isn't everything." With that he waved his wand in a quick succession that prevented Harry from catching the spell, and the potion was bottled and labelled.

"Thank you sir," Harry said, forcing himself to remain polite, before he took the box with the freshly brewed batch of potions, glad that the professor dismissed him without further belittling him.

HP

Harry hesitantly entered the Healer's office, seeing that she was just having tea together with Professor McGonagall.

"Professor Snape deemed your potion good enough for use in the hospital wing," Madam Pomfrey said, smiling, as Harry handed her the batch. "This is a first, apart from very few cases, in which he brought me potions from his NEWT class. This means that he admits that you can brew."

"He won't like it though," McGonagall threw in, "at least as long as he doesn't know why Harry is so good at brewing."

"Yes I think so," Harry agreed and told the two witches how the professor had tried to disturb and question him. "I hope he'll never find out."

"He won't easily find out," Madam Pomfrey said in a soothing voice, before she awarded Harry twenty points to Ravenclaw for the batch of potions.

Harry thanked the Healer and, knowing that he still had a few minutes time before curfew, headed to the Ravenclaw common room.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments. My muse appreciates them greatly! Special thanks to Clayva, who convinced me to update as quickly as tonight ;-)_


	10. Chapter 10

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

"Harry, have you already done your homework?" Hermione queried, as soon as he entered the common room.

"No," Harry replied, sighing. "It's only Transfiguration though, isn't it?"

"And Potions," Hermione informed him. "Professor Snape assigned us an essay about the difference of magical and non magical herbs in healing potions."

"How long?" Harry queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"He didn't say," Terry supplied.

_'I didn't hear that because he kicked me out of the classroom,'_ Harry thought, however, opened his Potions book in order to see what he was supposed to know about said ingredients and set to work. He hurriedly wrote his essay, knowing that it wouldn't be long before the beginning of curfew.

"Do you have to be back in your room by curfew?" Mandy, another first-year, who was sitting at the same table, asked, glancing at her watch.

"I don't know, I have to ask Madam Pomfrey," Harry replied, sighing. "But it's only a ten seconds' walk to my room, so I still have some time."

"If so," Mandy said, giving him a pleading look, "could you help me with that essay? I don't understand what exactly the difference is between magical and non magical herbs."

"There are several," Harry replied, thoughtfully, "but the main difference is that non magical herbs can be harvested at any time, while with magical herbs it depends on the herb when it has to be harvested to fulfil certain conditions and to be most efficient. Also apart from some exceptions, magical herbs are more efficient than none magical ones," he explained, before he looked at his classmate. "Sorry I can't describe it better."

"It was a brilliant description Harry," Hermione threw in, "and of course absolutely correct."

"All right then, I have to go. I'll see you in the morning," Harry said after a glance at his watch.

"Good night Harry. I'll come and fetch you on time for breakfast," Hermione promised, before she added as an afterthought, "Did you remember to write home?"

Harry stared at the girl in shock. "No I didn't have time yet," he replied, resolving to quickly apparate home later on. _'I wonder if Pomfrey checks if I'm in my room,'_ he thought as he crossed the corridor.

HP

He should not have to wonder about it for more than three minutes, as Helga Hufflepuff alerted the current Healer that Harry had returned to his room as soon as she had let him in.

Shortly later, Pomfrey entered Harry's room. "Are you feeling all right, or is the Blue Moon still bothering you?" she asked in a soft voice.

"I'm fine, just a bit tired," Harry replied, returning the older witch's smile.

"Very well then I won't bother you by checking on you," Pomfrey decided. "We just have to keep up appearances in front of the headmaster."

Harry agreed and asked if he was supposed to be back in his room by the beginning of curfew.

"Considering that your health is not very good, even if you might feel well for three weeks out of four, I believe that you need your rest and should be here by curfew," the Healer said in a firm voice. "Helga will alert me when you're back in your room, so that I know that you're back safely. If you need to stay longer in the common room for some reason, you can always let Helga know and she'll inform me. If it doesn't happen every now and then, I won't have a problem with it."

Harry thanked the Healer, only now realising that he felt absolutely exhausted. As soon as Pomfrey had left, he went to bed, deciding to find some time to apparate home during the following day.

HP

Only in the morning when Hermione came to fetch Harry for breakfast did he have a chance to tell his friend about the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw quarters.

"A whole library?" Hermione squealed in delight. "Will I be able to accompany you there?"

"Of course," Harry replied, smiling, before he told her about the potions lab and admitted, "I intend to use it to continue the research for the cure."

"Be careful Harry," Hermione told him looking at him in obvious concern, before she asked, "Can we go there after classes today?"

Harry let out a long sigh, before he answered, "I can take you there if you don't mind being on your own for a while. I want to apparate home to speak with Mum, the twins and Brightbird."

Hermione gave him an uncertain look. "If you're sure that I find my way back alone," she finally said, causing Harry to chuckle.

"Already forgot that you can apparate?" he whispered, as they just entered the Great Hall. "You can just apparate back into my room or into one of the alcoves next to the halls."

Hermione groaned. "Of course. Can you believe that I completely forgot about it over all the excitement of finally being at Hogwarts."

Grinning, Harry nodded and slipped into the empty seat next to Terry.

HP

To Harry's relief, all classes were interesting and otherwise passed uneventfully. Hermione and he were much advanced in Charms, however, since Flitwick knew about the matter and helped them hide from everyone else just how much ahead they were, it was no problem.

_'Thank Merlin except for Snape all the teachers are nice,'_ Harry thought, when he headed to his last afternoon class together with Hermione, Mandy and Terry. The four first-years had already become friends and remained together most of the time.

However, as soon as Harry entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, his head began to hurt. _'Now?'_ Harry thought, terrified. _'But it's just three days after the full moon, so why now?'_

"Harry, are you all right?" Hermione whispered, noticing that his face was scrunched in pain.

"Bad headache," Harry mouthed, as he let himself sink into the seat next to her.

He did not learn much during his Defence class, as he could barely concentrate, and the teacher's permanent stuttering did not really help. _'Quirrell is strange,'_ Harry mused, somehow having a bad feeling about the teacher, although he couldn't place it apart from the stuttering and the strange turban that the professor was wearing.

Harry sighed in relief, when the class was over, and on the way back into the direction of Ravenclaw he noticed that his headache receded almost as quickly as it had began. _'Strange,'_ he thought in confusion.

When they arrived in front of the portrait hole, Mandy and Terry gave them questioning looks when Harry and Hermione walked straight ahead.

"Are you going to go back to your room already?" Mandy enquired in apparent surprise.

"No," Harry replied, inwardly groaning, and told his best friends about the Ravenclaw library.

Mandy and Terry excitedly decided to join them, and Harry led his friends through the wall of mist into the library.

"Feel free to look around," he told the others, "I've got something to do. I'll see you at dinner."

"All right Harry," Hermione reassured him, before she and her two housemates turned towards the shelves with excitement.

HP

Harry quickly left the library and chose the empty corridor to apparate home.

"Harry!" the twins shouted, simultaneously, when he arrived right in the living room.

"Harry sweetheart, is something wrong?" Gwenlin asked, as she hurried over and pulled the boy into a light hug.

"Hi," Harry replied, smiling. "Nothing's wrong, Hogwarts is great. I just came to say hello, because I didn't have time to send an owl yet."

"Tell us about Hogwarts..."

".. in which house are you..."

"... and where's Hermione?" the twins questioned him, excitedly.

"We're both in Ravenclaw, and our classmates are all very nice," Harry replied. "The teachers are also all right apart from two of them." Letting out a small sigh, he told them about the stuttering Defence professor and the Potions Master, who seemed to dislike him with a passion.

"Oh sweetie, don't let Professor Snape get to you," Gwenlin said, gently. "As to Professor Quirrell, I'll speak about him with Buckbean. Maybe he knows something."

"All right," Harry agreed, smiling. "I'll go and speak with Brightbird. Maybe he knows Snape and can give me advice how to handle him. I'll see you on Sunday." He said good-bye to his mother and the twins and apparated straight to the school, choosing to arrive in front of the Potions classroom so as not to give Brightbird a shock by apparating directly into the classroom.

"Harry!" Brightbird looked at the boy in surprise. "Have they already kicked you out of Hogwarts?"

"Of course not," Harry replied with a small pout and told his mentor about Snape and his apparent aversion against him.

Brightbird quietly listened to what Harry told him, before he replied, "I've met Snape a few times at Potions Master congresses and such. I don't know if he remembers me though. Anyway, I don't think that there's anything that you can do about his attitude except from being on your best behaviour and managing to brew everything flawlessly."

"I'll try," Harry promised, inwardly sighing. _'That's what I feared,'_ he thought, before he told the teacher about the potions lab in the Ravenclaw quarters and promised to continue with the research for the cure.

Harry and Brightbird decided to take notes and exchange them when Harry was going to come to Goblin Island for Quidditch practice every Sunday afternoon.

"I thought about something," Brightbird suddenly said, pensively. "Last year, you told me that you possess a vault with books written by Salazar Slytherin, is that correct?"

"Yes sir," Harry confirmed in surprise.

"Maybe you can check it out and take some of his Potions books with you to read," Brightbird suggested. "I can imagine that there are many potions, which are lost in our time."

"I'll do that as soon as I can get away from Hogwarts again," Harry promised, before he hurriedly excused himself, having seen by a glance at his wrist watch that dinner had already begun in the Great Hall.

HP

Harry hurriedly apparated back into one of the alcoves near the entrance hall, wondering if he would attract more attention if he was late for dinner or if he missed it completely. _'Maybe it's better to just skip it,'_ he thought and decided to head to the potions lab and check out how it was organised. _'I should brew the potions that I need around the full moon anyway, not wanting to ask Madam Pomfrey for potions every time. She'll probably ask me anyway, but maybe she doesn't know that I already need them two days before the full moon,'_ he thought. Still deeply engrossed in his musings, he arrived at the potions lab.

The lab looked fairly similar to the Potions classroom. Like everywhere in the Ravenclaw quarters, one wand was completely occupied by a huge window that made the old stone room very bright. Phials and ingredients were properly stocked in shelves that were made of maple wood and thus much brighter than the furniture in the other rooms. Harry noticed that everything was very well organised, just like he was used it from Brightbird's lab. To his surprise, the lab was equipped with all kinds of ingredients that Harry could imagine. _'They must be kept under a refreshing charm,'_ he thought, realising that everything was as fresh as he was used to it.

He decided to brew a headache potion in case he'd get a headache in Professor Quirrell's class again and immediately set to work. One shelf was filled with cauldrons in gold, silver and black and in different sizes, and Harry quickly chose a normal, black cauldron, selected the needed ingredients, only to stop dead in his tracks. While he gathered the necessary amount of wormwood, he saw from the corner of his eyes that the birch bark, which he had just taken a minute ago, had been replaced automatically. _'Am I dreaming?'_ he wondered, closely observing the ingredients shelf.

By the time he was finished gathering the ingredients, he was sure that all the ingredients in the lab were charmed to be self-refilling. _'That's great,'_ he thought, 'then I'll never have problems with the ingredients, even when I'm continuing the research.'

Fifty minutes later, the finished potion was simmering in the cauldron, and Harry quickly waved his hand to bottle it and clean the lab. _'I must be the luckiest student at Hogwarts, having a whole potions lab for myself,'_ he thought, as pocketed a few phials and put the rest into a shelf to keep them in the lab.

He hurriedly made his way to the Ravenclaw common room, knowing that Hermione would probably fret because he had missed dinner.

However, considering how late it was, the girl apparently assumed that he had eaten at home and merely said, "Harry, you're late! Have you finished your homework already?"

"No," Harry admitted and immediately began with his Transfiguration and Charms homework. To his relief, he was just finished when curfew began, and - as much as he would have liked to stay in the common room and talk with his classmates about their findings in the Ravenclaw library - he knew that he had to return to his room.

HP

Twenty minutes later, when Madam Pomfrey looked into his room, Harry was fast asleep with a huge smile on his face. Smiling as well, she closed the door again, contented.

However, when Harry woke up in the morning and at a glance at his time-table realised that he had Potions in the first morning class, a feeling of foreboding overcame him, although he could not know just how bad his day was going to become.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments. My muse appreciates them greatly! _


	11. Chapter 11

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

"Iro do you want to come with me to classs?" Harry asked his familiar. "We've got Potionsss, so it might be dangerousss for you."

"I'll be fine. I'm not an Aessculapian Snake for nothing," Iro hissed back and, as usual, curled up around Harry's neck, making herself invisible at the same time.

When they entered the Potions classroom, Hermione slipped into the seat next to Susan and Harry sat next to her, while their friends sat together with Hannah Abbott, remembering what Hermione and Harry had told them about mixing up with the Hufflepuff students.

Suddenly, the Hufflepuff boy, who was sitting right over the aisle from Harry, addressed him. "Shouldn't you be sitting with the Ravenclaws? You're taking our places on the Hufflepuff side."

"There's no such thing as the Hufflepuff side or Ravenclaw side," Hermione replied, before Harry had even understood what the matter was about.

Harry just glanced around, noticing in relief that most of their classmates had once again followed their example and were sitting in a mix of both houses.

When Snape stormed into the classroom and called their names, Harry registered absentmindedly that the boy's name was Wayne Hopkins. _'Maybe he has older siblings who have told him such nonsense,'_ he thought, before he concentrated on the recipe that had just appeared on the board.

_'Ah, the potion to enlarge items,'_ he realised as he recognised the recipe. _'That's very easy.' _He quickly gathered the ingredients and set to work, not paying attention to his surroundings and thus unaware of the fact that the professor was observing his every move.

Suddenly, Snape hissed at the Hufflepuff sitting right over the aisle from Harry, "Hopkins, you ought to read! It says anti-clockwise for a reason! Zero points for today. Evanesco."

Unable to hide a small grin, Harry could not help feeling amused at the fact that the boy, who had been so unfriendly to him earlier, had failed his potion.

"When you've finished brewing, place one phial of your concoction onto my desk," Snape instructed the students, causing Harry to think, _'I better place an unbreakable charm on the phial. Who knows what Snape would do in order to give me zero points.'_

Harry had just finished his potion that had to simmer for five minutes before completion, when a small movement from his right side caught his eye. He could not see what it was. _'It looked like a chocolate frog, but who'd throw a chocolate frog into a potion?'_ he thought, fairly sure that it had been Wayne Hopkins who had had thrown something into his potion. Just an instant later, his potion began to spit out over-sized chocolate frogs that spread all over the Potions classroom in fast movements.

"Potter!" the professor bellowed, banishing Harry's potion with the evanesco spell. "Detention with me for a week and fifty points off Ravenclaw for your insolence!"

"But Professor," Hermione threw in, sounding very upset. "That was not Harry's fault. Hopkins threw the frog into his potion in the first place."

"Five more points from Ravenclaw for disturbing my class Granger," Snape sneered, "and zero points for today Potter."

"But Harry's potion was correctly brewed," Terry saw fit to jump to Harry's defence. "Otherwise the chocolate frogs wouldn't have been so big."

"Five points Mr. Boot," Snape said, icyly.

"Don't sssay anything elssse, the professssor iss only looking for something to punish you even more," Iro hissed into the silence that followed, as everyone seemed to realise that Snape was in a rage.

"What was that?" Snape growled, glaring at Harry and Hermione.

"That was my familiar, sir," Harry replied quietly, causing the professor to see red.

"How dare you bring animals into the Potions classroom you dunderhead, let alone a snake? Have you not understood how dangerous potions can be? Another week of detention Potter," he shouted, before he dismissed the class that had been observing the discussion between him and the Ravenclaws in shock.

"I had only heard that he was mean towards the Gryffindors, but the Ravenclaws don't seem much better off," Harry heard someone say on the way to the greenhouses, where their next class was going to take place.

"Two weeks of detention," Hermione whispered in concern. "When are you going to do your homework?"

"Afterwards," Harry replied matter-of-factly, wondering when he'd have time for his research. _'At least if Snape makes me brew potions, time will pass fairly quickly,'_ he thought.

HP

However, Snape had no intention to do the best first-year Potions student whom he had ever had the favour of making him brew anything. Instead, he had gathered a huge amount of dirty cauldrons.

"Hand over your wand and clean these cauldrons without magic," he instructed the boy.

"Yes sir," Harry replied and immediately began with the task ahead, realising in surprise that the teacher apparently had no intention to supervise him but had retreated into his office. _'If he does that again tomorrow, I'm going to brew something,'_ he decided, feeling very reassured by the thought.

HP

Harry was lucky. On the following evening, Snape again returned into his office, as soon as he had taken Harry's wand and instructed him to clean a huge pile of cauldrons.

He pondered the situation for a moment, before he quickly cleaned the cauldrons with a flick of his hand. After putting everything away, he apparated into his lab, grabbed the recipe that he wanted to try out next for the research, gathered the ingredients and apparated back into the Potions classroom. Setting up his cauldron, he began to brew, pushing the thought _'What will happen if Snape catches me?'_ to the back of his mind.

Luckily, he did not have to find out what would happen and was able to finish his potion eighty minutes later. He bottled one phial, which he hid in his robe pocket and cleared up the rest with a few waves of his hand, before he hesitantly knocked at the office door.

"Finished," he informed the professor when he was called in.

Snape merely quirked an eyebrow and handed Harry his wand, before he pointed to the door and said, "Same time tomorrow Potter."

HP

On the following day, the first-years had their first flying class. Knowing that he could fly well, Harry was not in the least excited; however, several of the first-years of both houses, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, had never been on a broomstick before, and the main topic of the day remained the flying class.

Only after lunch, Harry suddenly became excited, upon hearing that the Quidditch captain was going to observe their class in order to find possible candidates for the house team.

"I thought first-years weren't allowed to play on the house team," Hermione spoke up in surprise.

"There weren't, but Professor Flitwick saw to it that the stupid rule was abandoned," Roger, who had been playing Beater since his second year, informed her. "We urgently need a good Seeker and two Chasers though. Is any of you any good?"

"Harry will make a brilliant Seeker," Hermione replied, smiling. "He's fantastic."

"I'd love to play," Harry admitted. "But seeing that I'm going to spend the complete next week in detention with Snape, I won't even be able to attend practice."

"That doesn't matter Harry," Hermione said, convincingly. "Just watch him fly and catch the Snitch, then you'll understand," she told Roger, who promised to speak with the captain on Harry's behalf.

HP

The flying class turned out to be extremely boring. Since many of the children had no experience flying, they were first taught to call their brooms up into their hands, before they were even allowed to make a first attempt at sitting on the broom.

Harry looked up in surprise, when he suddenly heard his name.

"Mr. Potter," Madam Hooch addressed him. "Mr. Miller, the Quidditch captain of your house would like to fly together with you during our class. Is that all right with you?"

"Yes Madame and thank you," Harry replied and headed over to the older student, the school broom firmly in his hand.

"Hello Harry, I'm Marcus Miller, sixth year," the captain introduced himself, before he said, "Professor Flitwick as well as Roger Davies have suggested you as our new Seeker. Therefore, I'd like to do a Seeker scrimmage now if that's okay with you."

"Of course," Harry replied simply and took into the air, while the captain released the Snitch and mounted his broom as well.

Ten minutes later, Harry caught the Snitch, causing enthusiasm to appear on the older boy's face. During the remaining time of the Flying class, they did five more Seeker scrimmages, and Harry won them all.

"That's it Harry. You're on the team," Marcus finally announced, lightly patting his right shoulder.

"Thank you," Harry replied, feeling very happy. "I'm in detention in the Potions classroom for at least twelve more days though, and since Snape seems to hate me with a passion, he'll surely make that a month."

"Well, try to not get any more detentions, but the main point is that you catch the Snitch in the matches," Marcus replied, smirking.

"I'll do my best," Harry promised and asked, "Are we allowed to have our own brooms here at Hogwarts, or do we have to fly on school brooms?"

"No, you may of course bring your own broom," Marcus confirmed. "Maybe your parents can send it to you."

Harry merely nodded, resolving to bring his broom with him on Sunday.

HP

During the following two weeks, Harry had barely time to do anything else but homework. Sometimes, he even had to finish his homework back in his own room after curfew. The only good point about his detentions was that Snape continued to leave him alone in the classroom, so that Harry could efficiently use the time for his research. Since he did not have time to bother searching for rats, he merely took his potions to Brightbird, when he apparated to Goblin Island for the Chidren's team's Quidditch practice on Sunday afternoon. At the same time, they discussed further variations from their recipes, so that Harry knew what to brew during the following week.

"Otherwise it might happen that we waste time by brewing the same concoctions," Brightbird said, grinning.

"Next Saturday, I'll try to get away and have a look at Slytherin's vault," Harry promised, recalling what Brightbird had advised him the last time.

After a short visit to his family, Harry apparated back to Hogwarts, his broom shrunken in his robe pocket, and Hermione, Mandy and Terry greeted him, excitedly.

"Do you know Ronald Weasley?" Terry asked. "He's the brother of the Weasley twins and a Gryffindor first-year. Anyway, apparently he had a midnight duel with Draco Malfoy from Slytherin, and Ronald and two other Gryffindor first-years got lost on their way back and were bitten by a three-headed dog that is being kept on the third floor."

Harry stared at his friends with bewilderment. "They're keeping a three-headed dog at Hogwarts that bites students?" he queried in disbelief.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "No Harry, oh well, yes, but do you remember that Professor Dumbledore told us at the welcoming feast that the third floor corridor was off limits? If we follow the rules, we won't be bitten."

HP

Two days before the end of Harry's two-week-detention time with Snape, Harry met Neville Longbottom on his way to the Potions classroom.

"Hello Neville, what are you doing in the dungeons?" he asked, sympathetically.

"I have detention with Professor Snape," Neville admitted. "I think he hates me because I'm so bad at Potions."

"Oh welcome in the club," Harry replied, grinning. "He hates me too for some reason, and I've already had twelve detentions with him."

"Really?" Neville queried, gaping at Harry in disbelief.

"Yes," Harry replied, chuckling.

Together, they entered the Potions classroom, where Snape confiscated Harry's wand and instructed him to clean cauldrons as usual, before he informed Neville that he had to brew the potion again, which he had failed in the morning.

To Harry's relief, the professor did not supervise them but returned to his office as usual.

"Detention because of failing your potion?" he asked the Gryffindor in surprise.

"Well, I didn't only fail the potion, but my cauldron exploded," Neville admitted in a small voice. "The problem is that I've no idea what I did wrongly and how I can prevent it from happening again."

Harry let out a thoughtful sigh. "Let me help you," he said, finally. "You have your wand, right?"

"Yes," Neville said in surprise, pulling his wand.

"Then clean these cauldrons," Harry instructed him, carefully teaching him the spell.

An instant later, the cauldrons were all clean, and Harry taught him how to magically place them back into their respective shelves.

"How do you know these things?" Neville enquired, staring at Harry with a combination of surprise and amazement.

"Oh well, don't tell anyone, and thank you very much for doing this for me," Harry replied, grinning. "Now let's begin with your potion."

Together, they brewed the potion, which Neville had failed before. The boy was very happy that Harry patiently explained whatever he had to know in order to brew it correctly.

"You explain much better than the professor," he said, gratefully.

Unfortunately, just when Harry explained why he had to stir anti-clockwise and that he had probably stirred in the wrong direction to make his cauldron explode earlier, Professor Snape stepped into the room, taking in the scene with anger.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments. My muse appreciates them greatly! _


	12. Chapter 12

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

"Potter, you're supposed to clean cauldrons and not interfere with Longbottom's brewing," Snape bellowed, furiously.

"The cauldrons are finished sir," Harry replied, calmly.

"And Harry only helped me and explained how I could brew it correctly," Neville piped up, backing up in fright, when the professor towered over him.

"Another week of detention for both of you and twenty points each of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor," Snape hissed, furiously.

Harry hurriedly grabbed Neville's wand so as to not let anyone know about the wandless magic and cast a stasis charm at the potion in order to prevent Snape from giving Neville zero points for his potion.

"Potter!" the Potions Master bellowed upon realising what Harry had done, when the boy returned the wand. "You'll write 500 times _'I must do as I am told and keep from matters that have nothing to do with me'_. Due tomorrow before your detention. Now leave!"

Together with Neville, Harry fled the Potions classroom, completely forgetting to retrieve his wand from the professor.

"I'm so sorry for getting you into trouble," Neville apologized, while they climbed up towards the entrance hall, causing Harry to stare at his classmate in surprise.

"It's not your fault at all," Harry replied, reassuringly. "Plus I don't care. Since my first day at Hogarts, I've been having detention with the git. I'm getting used to it."

HP

After a short detour to the common room to inform his friends, Harry returned to his room, knowing that curfew was about to begin. _'And I haven't even finished my homework, let alone the 500 sentences,'_ he thought, inwardly groaning. He sat at the desk in his room and began with his homework, deciding that he would still be able to write sentences even when he was very tired.

It was midnight, before he could begin with his sentences. _'How annoying,'_ Harry thought. _'From homework, I can at least learn something, but this is just completely stupid and unnecessary.'_

Suddenly, Helga spoke to him from her portrait. "Harry, it's after midnight, and I believe that you should go to bed and get some rest. You need it."

"I know," Harry replied, sighing, before he told the kind, old witch what had happened in the Potions classroom.

A few minutes later, Pomfrey stepped into the room enquiring what he was doing.

Harry once more explained the matter and promised to finish after two hundred sentences and go to bed and write the rest somehow during the day. However, at three o'clock in the morning, he was still writing sentence one hundred eighty-nine.

"Harry, go to bed now. If you don't, I'll wake up Madam Pomfrey and make her cast a sleeping spell at you," Helga threatened the boy in a no-nonsense voice that made Harry grudgingly obey and go to bed for three hours of sleep.

At breakfast, Harry continued writing, and he skipped History of Magic and lunch to somehow get to four hundred sentences, knowing that he had still an hour after the last class and could, if necessary, complete it during dinner.

HP

Unaware of the fact that Hermione had observed him the whole day in utmost concern and dragged Mandy and Terry to Flitwick in order to voice her concern about Harry's detentions and other punishments by the Potions Master, Harry dragged himself down to the dungeons. He was very tired and did not feel overly well on that evening.

Harry handed his parchments to the Potions Master, who looked at the first page and commented, "Potter, your hand writing is atrocious. Clear out and clean the ingredients cupboard, without magic of course," he instructed him, holding out his hand. On Harry's questioning look, he drawled, "Your wand."

"You still have my wand here sir. I forgot to get it back last night," Harry replied, causing the professor to stare at him in disbelief.

Before Snape could comment on the matter, Neville anxiously stepped into the classroom, and Harry hurriedly headed towards the ingredients cupboard, sighing in relief because he did not have to clean cauldrons for a change, he heard how the professor told Neville that he had to brew all potions, which they had learned from the beginning of the school year, during his detention.

"You will brew them until they're correct," the Potions Master sneered at the frightened boy. "And if Mr. Potter helps you, you'll both be in for more detentions. Be my guest."

_'Of course I'll help him,'_ Harry mused, _'knowing that it'll be me who has to clean the complete classroom if Neville's potions explode.'_ He refrained from speaking to Neville, noticing that the professor had left the door to his office slightly ajar.

However, all of a sudden, Neville whispered, "Harry, how am I supposed to prepare the frog eggs?"

"Just mush them," Harry replied quietly without even turning around in case the professor had heard them.

However, to the boys' luck, just when Snape turned his head towards the classroom, there was a knock at his door and he was called away because of a fight in the corridor between Gryffindor and Slytherin first-years.

"Thank Merlin that'll hopefully keep him away for a while," Harry blurted out, turning to Neville. "Do you need any other help?"

Neville cast him a miserable look. "I always need help. I just don't understand Potions."

Inwardly sighing, Harry interrupted his own task and guided Neville through the preparation of his ingredients and helped him with the beginning of the brewing process, until they heard the professor return to his office. When Snape stuck his nose into his classroom, Harry was already engrossed in the cleaning of the ingredients cupboard.

Ten minutes later, Neville's potion let out an angry hiss, and in the blink of an eye, the Potions Master was standing behind him, shouting, "Evanesco!"

_'Poor Neville,'_ Harry thought. _'I should tutor him in Potions. The problem is that I just don't have time at all because of these stupid detentions. I wonder what's wrong with me tonight. I feel as if it was close to the full moon, but it's still a week away.'_

By the time curfew began, the two boys were still quietly working in the Potions classroom. While Neville made a second attempt at brewing his potion, Harry eagerly checked all the ingredients for their expiry date, sorted out those that were close to expiring and cleaned the cupboard.

All of a sudden, the fireplace in the classroom flared and Madam Pomfrey stepped out. After a mere glance at the two boys, she headed into the professor's office.

"Severus, I'm sorry, but curfew has already begun and I have to insist that you let the boys go for tonight. Mr. Potter's health condition is not good enough to stay up half the nights and miss meals in order to write lines for you or to do his homework for which he doesn't have time otherwise because of his detentions. Mr. Longbottom also needs time to do his homework and get enough sleep."

"Mr. Longbottom is an absolute dunderhead," Snape sneered. "Not even able to brew the first simple potions correctly."

"Then I suggest that you let Harry tutor him during their detentions, considering that Harry's potions are good enough to be used in the hospital wing. Anyway Severus," she continued in a much sterner voice, "I will not have Mr. Potter aggravate his condition because of your punishments for whatever he might have done. Otherwise, I will speak with Albus together with Filius and Minerva, who both spoke with me tonight in concern because he seems to be completely overworked."

Harry listened to the conversation in amazement. _'Madam Pomfrey's telling him off,'_ he thought. _'That's brilliant.'_ He sighed in relief, when Snape stepped into the classroom, shook his head in apparent annoyance at the colour of Neville's potion and handed Harry his wand, before he dismissed them both.

Together with the Healer, Harry and Neville climbed up the way towards the entrance hall.

"Thanks a lot Madam Pomfrey," Harry finally spoke up, when they had left the dungeons.

"You're welcome dear," she replied, smiling, before she asked, "Are you feeling all right Harry?"

"I'm fine," Harry lied and turned to his classmate. "Neville, as soon as I have time, I'll tutor you in Potions. Maybe sometime during the weekend."

"Oh that would be great," Neville replied, gratefully.

"That's a good idea," Pomfrey threw in, smiling.

When they separated from Neville in the entrance hall, Harry admitted, "I feel as if it was the day before the full moon, although it isn't."

Pomfrey cast him a worried look and said, "Harry you must be careful to not overexert yourself; otherwise, you might suffer from the symptoms even at other times." She accompanied Harry back to his room and quickly waved her wand over him, before she instructed him to go to bed right away. "I know that you still have to do your homework, but I'll excuse you with your teachers, and if you don't feel better in the morning, you'll also be exempt from classes."

"No, I want to attend classes," Harry replied, tiredly. "I'll be all right. I'm used to it."

"We'll see," Pomfrey replied and gently tucked the boy in, noticing that he drifted off to sleep before she had even left the room.

HP

Unbeknownst to Harry, the four heads of house, the headmaster and the healer used to have tea together after curfew whenever they could find the time. They either met in one of their living rooms or, often enough when Madam Pomfrey had patients to look after, in the healer's office. This evening was not different, and Madam Pomfrey informed their colleagues about Harry's condition.

"He wants to attend classes tomorrow, although I offered to excuse him, but he was not able to do any homework, nor will he be in a condition to attend detention tomorrow."

During the conversation following her statement, especially Flitwick and McGonagall questioned the necessity of Harry's detention considering his anyway fragile condition on the one hand and his apparent brewing abilities on the other.

"His brewing abilities are out of question," Pomfrey threw in, smiling. "Severus even accepted a batch of his brewing for use in the hospital wing."

"Severus," Dumbledore finally spoke up. "Why don't you make Harry your student assistant? You're in dire need of someone to help with your workload, and since he's so adept, he'd surely be able to efficiently assist, provided that he's willing to work together with you."

"He won't," Snape scoffed. "He's a Potter."

"Severus," McGonagall admonished him sharply. "He's Lily's son as much as James', and he doesn't even remember his birth parents."

"I agree," Pomfrey said in a firm voice. "He's a very sweet and extremely polite child. He even offered Neville Longbottom to tutor him in Potions whenever he had time."

"He has to ask me if he wants to use the Potions classroom," Snape replied, grumpily.

"I don't think that he'll need the Potions classroom," Flitwick spoke up in apparent excitement. "The Grey Lady told me that she introduced Harry to the Ravenclaw quarters, as he's the heir of the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw family. She said that their quarters also contain a well equipped potions lab."

Finally, Dumbledore decided that Harry would not be allowed to serve any detentions during the weekends and asked Snape to make some effort to try getting along with the child. "I'll also speak with Harry," he promised the Potions Master in return.

HP

When Harry woke up in the morning, Helga addressed him from her portrait. "Harry, Madam Pomfrey has been called to Hufflepuff, as there's a mass outbreak of the wizard's flu. She instructed me to tell you that she has informed your teachers that you're exempt from classes and detention today. If you insist on attending classes, you may do so, but you may return here and skip classes as you wish. She left two phials for you on the night table."

"Thank you Helga," Harry replied, gratefully, before he said, hesitating, "I'll probably attend most of the classes and also my detention. Would it be all right if I stayed in the common room after curfew tonight? It's Hermione's birthday tomorrow, and our class is going to have a birthday party for her tonight until after midnight. I know I should have asked Madam Pomfrey, but as she isn't here..." He slowly trailed off, giving the Founder a pleading look.

"That's all right dear," Helga said gently. "I'll inform Madam Pomfrey. Just be careful that you don't aggravate your condition, and come back here if you don't feel well."

"I will," Harry promised in spite of knowing better. He gratefully gulped down the headache potion and fever reducer, before he got ready for classes. _'Strange, the potions don't work as well as usually before the full moon,'_ he thought, as he followed Hermione to the Great Hall for breakfast. _'Thank Merlin I already made the fruit drops for her during the weekend. Her birthday is tomorrow,'_ he thought.

"Harry, our classmates decided to hold my birthday party out near the lake right after the beginning of curfew," Hermione suddenly whispered. "Will you be able to come?"

"Yes," Harry replied, smiling. "I already informed Helga, as Pomfrey wasn't there this morning."

HP

The two friends had just taken their seats at the Ravenclaw table and Harry helped himself to a large glass of pumpkin juice, when Flitwick came over and addressed the boy.

"Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore wishes to speak with you right after breakfast. The password is Lemon Frogs."

"Yes sir," Harry replied, giving the half goblin a questioning look.

However, Flitwick did not further explain but returned to the high table.

_'I wonder what I've done now,'_ Harry thought, slowly sipping his third glass of pumpkin juice.

"Harry, are you not going to eat anything?" Hermione asked sternly, eyeing him in concern.

"No, I better go and see what Dumbledore wants," Harry decided, noting that the headmaster had already left his seat. "I'll be late for Potions."

"I'll tell Professor Snape," Hermione promised, causing Harry to snort. _'As if he'd listen to your explanation,'_ he thought, when he made his way out of the Great Hall.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments. My muse appreciates them greatly! Please be patient... eventually Harry and Snape will learn to get along..._


	13. Chapter 13

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

"Lemon Frogs," Harry told the gargoyle that immediately let him through to the headmaster's office. _'I wonder if that's a new invention and involves lemon drop in the form of chocolate frogs that jump through his office,'_ he thought, absentmindedly noticing that Dumbledore was petting what seemed to be a fire phoenix.

"Harry my boy, how nice of you to join us. Have you met my phoenix, Fawkes, yet?" Dumbledore greeted him, holding out the bowl of lemon drops to the boy.

"No thank you," Harry politely refused, before he turned to the bird. "Hello Fawkes, I'm happy to meet you," he said, smiling at the bird that looked just amazing.

#Is that an Aesculapian Serpent?# Fawkes trilled in obvious excitement. #She's beautiful and very rare to have, especially for a nestling like you.#

"I can communicate with her, that's why," Harry replied, shyly.

"Can you understand Fawkes?" Dumbledore queried in apparent surprise.

"Yes sir," Harry admitted, feeling slightly confused at the question.

#The nestling must be a phoenix Animagus,# Fawkes trilled, #and I can sense that I'm going to become his familiar in the far future.#

The headmaster thoughtfully gazed at his familiar, before he changed the topic, inviting Harry to take a seat. "I had a longer conversation with the four heads of house and Madam Pomfrey, and it came to my attention that you and Professor Snape are still having problems," he spoke up, giving Harry a questioning look.

"He has a problem with me," Harry threw in, heatedly. "I'm not having problems except for having to serve completely useless detentions in the Potions classroom every evening since my first day at Hogwarts."

"Now now my boy," Dumbledore replied in a calming voice. "I know about your detentions, and I've informed Professor Snape that from now on you're not allowed to serve any detention during the weekends."

"Oh Professor, thank you so much," Harry said, gratefully. "I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome my boy," Dumbledore assured him. "I believe that the whole problem results from the fact that Professor Snape finds it unsettling that you're so good at Potions although you grew up with your Muggle relatives who wouldn't have been able to teach you."

Harry shrugged, before he said matter-of-factly, "It's not his concern where I learned about Potions."

Dumbledore let out a long sigh. "Harry my boy, does anyone here at Hogwarts know the truth?"

"Yes sir," Harry informed him, "several of your colleagues know and have promised to keep my secret, which I appreciate greatly."

"I understand," Dumbledore said, slowly, and Harry could tell from his expression that he was not happy with their conversation at all.

"I'm sorry Headmaster," he threw in, absentmindedly patting Iro's head.

"It's all right Harry, if some of my colleagues - I assume that Professors McGonagall and Fliwtick are among them - know and appreciate it, it can't be anything bad," the old wizard voiced his thoughts. "Just promise me that you don't provoke Professor Snape and try to get along with him. I know that he's not easy to get along with."

"I'll do my best," Harry promised, sincerely. "I just hope Snape will do so too."

"It's Professor Snape Harry, and yes, I've asked him for the same favour," Dumbledore reassured him.

HP

However, when Harry entered the Potions classroom fifteen minutes after the beginning of the class, which he had only managed by apparating right in front of the classroom, he realised that at least Snape had already forgotten about Dumbledore's admonishment.

"Fifteen minutes late Potter. Twenty points from Ravenclaw," the Potions Master bellowed, causing Harry to cast Hermione a questioning look.

"I already told him, but he didn't listen and only took points," Hermione whispered. "Don't say anything else now."

For an instant, Harry pondered if he should just leave and return to his room; however, he dismissed the thought, remembering what Dumbledore had told him. He glanced at the recipe on the board. _'The fever reducer,'_ he realised, wondering if he could unobtrusively bottle a few doses for later use. _'I seem to need them today,'_ he thought, as he dragged himself to the ingredients cupboard.

Even if he had begun to work ten minutes later than his classmates, he managed to finish his potion on time, since he saved valuable minutes of double checking the recipe, the ingredients and the brewing method. He just sat there and brewed the potion, which he had made for Inken so many times already that he would have been able to brew it in his sleep. Unbeknownst to the boy, the professor was observing his every move.

After finishing the brewing process, Harry filled one dose into a phial, unobtrusively casting an unbreakable charm at it, before he placed it on the professor's table like everyone else did. When he returned to his seat, he noticed with a combination of surprise and suspect that Snape was leaning over his cauldron.

"I'll take the batch to Madam Pomfrey later on," the Potions Master informed him in a voice that was void of any emotion.

"Thank you sir," Harry replied, politely, unaware of the fact that the whole class, which only consisted of Ravenclaws that morning, because the Hufflepuffs had taken ill, was observing the interaction between him and the professor in disbelief. _'He's really making an effort,'_ he thought, smirking.

"Is it normal that first-years' potions are used in the hospital wing?" Padma asked, incredulously, staring at Harry on the first-years' way back out of the dungeons.

Harry had never spoken to the girl before, not because he didn't like her, but because he just didn't have enough time to spend in the common room.

"Usually not," Hermione immediately reassured the girl, "only Harry's, because he's proficient at brewing."

HP

Harry dragged himself during the day, somehow feeling worse by the hour. After the last morning class, he decided to skip lunch, Defence and History of Magic and headed to the potions lab in the Ravenclaw quarters. He once again brewed the fever reducer and gulped down a dose of it as well as of the headache potion, once more noticing that they only helped so much.

In fact, his throat had become a little sore by now, and he began to wonder if he had caught a cold. _'But tomorrow is Saturday and I really want to go to Slytherin's vault,'_ he thought, when a sudden idea crossed his mind. _'I'll go right away,'_ he decided. _'If I can't go tomorrow, then I'll at least have something interesting to read.'_

Not further pondering the matter, he apparated right into Slytherin's vault at Gringotts, which was now his own vault. It was bigger than the other vaults that he had visited last year and was full with bookshelves from the ground to the ceiling.

_'It's Slytherin's complete library,'_ he realised and eagerly skimmed the shelves. Most of the books were written in old English, ninety-five percent of them about potions. However, there was one shelf, containing about five dozen books, which were written in Parselscript with Slytherin's name on the cover. _'These are the ones that he wrote by himself,'_ Harry thought. _'They're probably the most interesting.'_ He cast a shrinking charm at the books in Parselscript and pocketed them all.

Back at Hogwarts, he enlarged the books and placed them into an empty shelf in the potions lab. He only picked out three books, which he slid in his book bag in order to read them back in his room. Knowing that he had about three hours left until the beginning of his detention, Harry hesitantly entered one of the bedrooms and lay down on the bed that looked overly inviting for a much needed nap.

By the time Harry's mind turned back to awareness, it was already dark outside. _'Oh no,'_ he thought, horrified. _'I'm late for detention.'_

A hurriedly cast Tempus charm showed him that it was shortly before ten o'clock in the evening. Harry was stunned. _'I can't believe that I slept so long,'_ he thought in disbelief. _'Thank Merlin Madam Pomfrey excused me from detention, otherwise I'd be in for another week or two.'_ Unfortunately, the sleep had not helped to improve his condition. If he felt any change, it was rather worse than better. Casting a refreshing charm and his usual concealment charms at himself, Harry fetched his present for Hermione from the lab and went by his own room to leave his book bag, before heading to the common room.

"Harry, where have you been?" Helga asked in apparent concern. "Madam Pomfrey was worried, because no one had seen you after your morning classes."

"I'm sorry," Harry replied and told the kind witch about his long nap in the Ravenclaw quarters.

"Well then you needed it," Helga said gently. "Have fun at the party."

Harry thanked the Founder and made his way into the common room, where his friends also bombarded him with questions about his whereabouts.

HP

Finally, the ten first-years headed out onto the grounds, accompanied by some of the older students. "They've helped us organise everything," Hermione whispered to Harry. "They even asked some house-elves to prepare something to eat and drink for us."

When they stepped out onto the grounds, Harry stared at the scene in front of him in utter surprise. One part of the lake was brightly illuminated with torches, and right next to the shore of the lake, Harry could see five small benches, put into a circle, and near the benches was a large table with all kinds of delicacies that Harry could imagine.

"Won't the teachers see the lights?" he asked, worriedly, causing Hermione to smile.

"No Harry think magic," she replied, enlightening him, "The torches are charmed so that they can't be seen from inside the castle."

"Cool," Harry said, letting himself sink onto a bench.

It was five days before the full moon and there were no clouds in the sky, so that the moon light helped turning the dark nightly grounds bright enough for a picnic. While his classmates stormed the buffet, Harry contented himself with a few glasses of pumpkin juice, before Hermione brought him a plate with just a little bit of everything and instructed him to eat something. He was not hungry at all, however, the food was so delicious that he somehow managed to clear the plate within minutes, making Hermione nod contentedly.

When everyone was so full that they could not eat anymore, the older students suggested to take a bath in the lake.

"We didn't bring our swimsuits," Mandy said in confusion, giving Hermione a questioning look.

"You don't need anything," Terry replied, grinning. "No one will see you in the lake."

Smirking, Harry unobtrusively waved his hand at the girl, transfiguring her attire into a swimsuit, before he did the same with Hermione and the other girls.

"Was that your doing?" Hermione mouthed, relaxing when Harry smiled. "Are you not going to swim?" she then asked, giving him a concerned look, when he shook his head and told her that he had caught a cold.

"Go and enjoy yourself," Harry instructed her. "And tell the Giant Squid to be quiet and not give us away."

"Yes, he's really loud tonight, isn't he?" Hermione replied, before she hurried after the others, who were already jumping into the lake.

HP

If Harry had thought that he would be alone, while everyone else had gone swimming, he was mistaken. Just when he heard the others splash and shout in the water and hurriedly cast a silencing spell around the lake, two tall figures came out of the castle heading straight his way. Only when they entered the path around the lake, Harry recognised them as two third year Gryffindors. _'The Weasley twins,'_ he thought. _'What are they doing out here during the night?'_

Only when they reached the lake, the twins seemed to have noticed what was going on and came over to Harry.

"Hi there..."

"We're Fred and George Weasley..."

"... and who are you?" they greeted him in a funny sing-song that strangely reminded him of Jane and Kengo.

"I'm Harry," he replied, inviting the twins to sit down.

"Not after we've had something from the buffet," they informed him and shortly later returned with two full plates.

"Are you perhaps the one and only Harry Potter..."

"... who is said to be so good at Potions?" the twins queried, causing Harry to stare at them in surprise.

"Neville told us..."

"... and we wondered if you were interested in brewing prank potions together with us..."

"... from time to time."

Harry immediately agreed and told the twins that he would contact them through Neville. "Probably we can brew next weekend," he added, thoughtfully.

Harry and the twins talked about Hogwarts, about the teachers, students, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, and when his classmates returned from the lake, he had the impression as if he had already gained two new friends. _'I really like them, but they remind me too much of Jane and Kengo,'_ he thought, suddenly feeling very homesick. _'Thank Merlin it's the weekend and I'll be able to go home for a while,'_ he thought, when all of a sudden a movement at the edge of the Forbidden Forest caught his eye.

A larger figure, obviously an adult, came right out of the Forbidden Forest and walked in the direction of the castle. Harry quickly alerted the others, and everyone quietened immediately.

"That's Quirrell," Fred Weasley blurted out, and Harry could make out the professor's smelly turban in the moonlight.

However, Quirrell did not came over but continued to walk straight on.

"Thank Merlin he was too preoccupied with himself to notice us," Hermione said, letting out a relieved sigh.

HP

It was shortly after midnight that Harry returned to his room, not feeling tired at all due to the long nap that he had taken in the afternoon.

Resolving to take a look at Slytherin's books, he sat at his desk, ignoring Helga's disapproving look, and began to skim the first book.

_'This sounds interesting,'_ he thought, feeling extremely grateful that Slytherin had added a comment about the effects of each potion to the respective recipe. _'Maybe I should translate the title and the explanation of each recipe and show them to Brightbird, so that he can tell me if there's any recipe that would be interesting to have in our time.'_

Suddenly feeling exhausted, he laid the book aside and went to bed, knowing that he'd time enough to study the book during the weekend.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments. You have no idea what they mean to me!_


	14. Chapter 14

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__Thanks to my brilliant beta ____JB5391! _I am not a native speaker of English.

* * *

When Harry woke up in the morning, he felt dreadful. It was slightly different from the feeling that he used to have during the full moon, mainly because his throat was so sore that he could barely swallow.

He slowly opened his eyes just a little bit, when he heard someone enter the room from the Ravenclaw corridor side. It was Madam Pomfrey.

She stepped nearer and held out a phial for him. "Your classmates are all feeling awful this morning after eating too much during the night," she said, smirking.

"I didn't eat much, but I think I'm ill," Harry replied, noticing that his voice sounded very hoarse.

"Oh no," Pomfrey said, sighing, and began to wave her wand over him. "Yes, you caught the wizard's flu," she diagnosed after a moment. "Did you not attend lunch in the Great Hall yesterday, when the preventive potion was added to the food?"

"No," Harry replied, weakly. "I took a nap, because I didn't feel well in the first place."

"I'll fetch you some potions," Pomfrey said, bustling through the door leading into the small corridor behind her office. A short while later, she returned, carrying two goblets, which she handed Harry one after the other.

Harry gulped down the potions as fast as he could with the pain in his throat that felt red and raw on this morning. "That's much better," he said, gratefully handing back the second goblet.

The Healer instructed him to stay in bed and rest, promising to look after him again later on. Before she had even left the room, Harry succumbed to the potions. By the time his mind drifted back to awareness, Hermione was sitting on the edge of his bed, engrossed in an old tome.

"Mione," Harry mumbled, "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you Harry," the girl replied, smiling.

"Are you going to have another party today?" Harry asked, feeling bad to be ill on his best friend's birthday.

"No," Hermione said, smirking. "I prefer to stay here with you. Oh by the way, I've written to your parents and informed them that you won't be able to apparate home tomorrow because of being ill with the wizard's flu. I hope that was all right."

"Thank you," Harry agreed, sighing. "Otherwise they might worry if I can't go home tomorrow."

HP

It was a few hours later, around dinner time, when Harry realised that his family had indeed received Hermione's letter.

Feeling better just after another round of potions, Harry had asked Hermione to hand him Slytherin's book that was still lying on his desk. While the girl continued reading the old tome, knowing that Harry wasn't able to talk much, Harry looked over the titles and the explanations giving in Salazar's recipe book.

All of a sudden, Jane and Kengo apparated straight into the room.

"Jane, Kengo," Hermione shouted, happily hugging Harry's siblings.

"Happy Birthday Mione," the twins replied, simultaneously.

"Thanks for your letter..."

"... and for looking after our little brother."

Turning to Harry they said, "Dad told us to tell you..."

"... you should contact him as soon as you can..."

"... He found out something about Professor Quirrell..."

"... and he needs to speak with you urgently."

"I'll go home then tomorrow," Harry replied, worried what his father might have found out about the strange professor."

"You can't," Hermione admonished him in exasperation. "I didn't write to your parents just for fun but because Madam Pomfrey told me that you won't be able to apparate."

"I will," Harry contradicted, adding in a soft voice, "Don't worry, I'm not going to play Quidditch."

Hermione cast him a look that clearly told him she'd see to it that he wouldn't be able to go. The twins spent the rest of the afternoon with Hermione and Harry, and Madam Pomfrey even allowed them to have dinner together with the two first-years.

Before they apparated home later in the evening, Jane told Harry, "We'll ask Dad to visit you here and tell you about Professor Quirrell."

"I'm not really sure if he'll dare coming here though," Kengo added, smirking.

HP

Before Harry could even consider apparating home on Sunday morning, his parents both came to visit him. While his mother sat on the edge of his bed and began to gently wipe his flushed face with a cold cloth, his father gave him a concerned look.

"Harry," Buckbean finally spoke up. "Several of my colleagues did some research about Professor Quirrell and his behaviour, and they believe that he's possessed by the one who gave you that scar."

"Quirrell's possessed by Voldemort?" Harry blurted out, horrified.

"That's what the goblins believe," Buckbean confirmed. "You must speak with Flitwick and inform him of this, so that he can exempt you from your Defence Against the Dark Arts class. It would be too dangerous for you to attend his class."

"All right Dad," Harry replied, uncertainly.

"The goblins are now trying to find a way to vanish the possessing part from the host," Buckbean continued, "however; I can't promise you that they'll find a solution within a few days."

"All right Dad," Harry repeated. "Please thank your colleagues on my behalf, and I hope that they'll find a way soon. It's a bit unsettling to have Voldemort here at Hogwarts."

"Yes son, you should never be alone in the halls," Gwenlin said in a stern voice.

HP

Unfortunately, during the following two months, the goblins were not able to find a solution to the problem. As soon as Madam Pomfrey allowed him out of bed, Harry informed Flitwick of what his father had told him, and the Ravenclaw head promised to speak with his colleagues and the headmaster in order to exempt Harry from Quirrell's class.

On Tuesday after dinner, the headmaster once again called Harry into his office. To his surprise, not only Flitwick, but also Professor Snape were present when Harry entered the room.

"Harry my dear boy," Dumbledore greeted him, offering him a lemon drop, which Harry politely declined. "Your professors and I believe that Professor Quirrell might be possessed by Voldemort," he came straight to the point. "Professor Flitwick told me that your scar hurts in his presence. Is that correct?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied, feeling very much reassured by the half goblin's presence.

"Very well," Dumbledore continued, "If our assumption is correct, it would be too dangerous for you to attend Professor Quirrell's class. Therefore, we have decided to exempt you from your Defence class." Harry inwardly sighed in relief, when the headmaster went on, "Fortunately, Professor Snape is a brilliant Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and has offered to teach you in private."

Harry stared at the headmaster in shock, before he slowly let his eyes wander to the Potions Master. "Thank you sir," he said in a small voice.

Snape merely slightly inclined his head and spoke up in a voice that for once held no malice. "Come to my office tomorrow after dinner, so that we can compare our time tables and fix the times for your Defence class."

"Yes sir," Harry voiced his agreement.

With that, Dumbledore dismissed him, promising that the professors would think about a way to get rid of Voldemort.

"Professor Snape," Harry hesitantly addressed the Potions Master, seeing that the professor did not rise from his chair. When the professor quirked an eyebrow in silent question, he queried, "About my detention sir, what I am supposed to do tonight?"

"Madam Pomfrey excused you from your detentions for the whole week," Snape replied, his voice void of emotion.

Casting the professor a surprised look, Harry excused himself and left the room after petting Fawkes' head for a few seconds.

HP

Before he returned to the common room to enjoy his unexpected freedom, Harry walked by the hospital wing to thank Madam Pomfrey.

"Ah you're welcome dear. I need you to rest more, especially now before the full moon," the Healer replied in a firm voice. "Due to the Blue Moon disease, your immune system is fairly weak, and you're susceptible to other illnesses if you have problems like you had last week due to overexertion." Seeing that Harry was listening, she continued, "In fact, I asked Professor Snape to make you brew potions during your detentions, especially since he's very busy with several potions that I urgently need. However, he told me that the point of a detention was to make the student do something which he does not like and that therefore making you brew potions wouldn't be a punishment for you."

Harry let out a long sigh. "That might be true, but still," he said, thoughtfully, before he asked in a small voice, "Should I ask him if I could help him brew if he's so busy right now and I don't have detention?"

A smile stole itself onto the Healer's face, as she replied, "That would be very sweet of you Harry, and it might help improve your relationship with Professor Snape. However, please keep in mind that you need a lot of rest this week."

HP

When Harry hesitantly entered the professor's office on the following evening, he noticed in surprise that the professor once again spoke with him in a normal voice. Comparing their time tables, they found two hours during the week, where Snape had a free period during the Ravenclaw first-years' Defence Against the Dark Arts class, and they decided to hold the third class on Sunday mornings.

"Thank you so much for teaching me in private sir," Harry said, feeling very grateful towards the older wizard who was willing to spend his free time for him in spite of disliking him so much.

"You're welcome Potter," Snape replied in an even voice.

Harry let out a long sigh, before he spoke up, hesitantly, "Madam Pomfrey told me that you're very busy brewing potions for the hospital wing right now. Is there anything that I could help with?"

The Potions Master raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Madam Pomfrey said that your condition was not well enough for your detentions," he replied, giving the boy a questioning look.

"Yes, I know," Harry replied, sighing. "The brewing of potions is less strenuous than for example cleaning cauldrons though, so it's no problem."

"Very well then," the Potions Master said, pensively. "Would you be able and willing to brew the potion for the wizard's flu?"

"Of course sir," Harry replied. That specific potion belonged to the most common healing potions which he knew by heart.

He set up his cauldron and proficiently brewed the requested potion, finding it very soothing to brew together with the professor, who busied himself at the table next to him simultaneously brewing several other concoctions. The two wizards did not speak with each other, but instead of a hostile silence, Harry found it to be rather a comforting one.

Only when his potion was finished, Harry finally raised his voice. "I'm sorry sir, I still don't know the spell to bottle the potion."

To his surprise, the professor patiently taught him how to magically bottle and label the potion, before he dismissed the boy, stating that he would be in trouble with Madam Pomfrey if he'd make him brew more than one potion.

"Tomorrow, I have Quidditch practice, provided that Madam Pomfrey allows me to attend, but on Thursday I could come and assist again," Harry said in a small voice, hesitantly glancing at the professor.

"Such proficient help as yours is always welcome," Snape replied in a soft, baritone voice.

"All right sir. Good night," Harry said and left the classroom with a smile playing on his lips.

HP

"Ten points to Ravenclaw," Severus uttered, as soon as the boy had left the classroom. _'Maybe Poppy and Albus were right, and the boy is very different from his father. Nevertheless, it's unsettling that he's so proficient at brewing potions. Tonight, he didn't even have to look at the recipe for the wizard's flu, and that potion is OWL material.'_

HP

Harry was very happy to finally be able to attend Quidditch practice, and after practice on Wednesday and Friday, his teammates told him to not worry about attending practice.

"If you fly like you did during practice, we're going to win the Quidditch cup this year and probably for seven years in a row," Roger told him, and the other team members nodded enthusiastically.

"I love to fly," Harry admitted, feeling very happy to be a member of the team. _'I really have to thank Flitwick for that,'_ he thought.

HP

On the other days, Harry kept to his promise and assisted Snape in the Potions classroom, enjoying himself greatly brewing together with the professor. Like during the first evening, the two wizards barely spoke with each other, but concentrated on their tasks, and as always, Harry brewed his potions flawlessly and in a quality that allowed the professor to add them to Madam Pomfrey's stock.

Harry realised soon that the Defence class with the professor was very good. During his lessons on Wednesday and Friday morning, which took place in an empty room in the dungeons that the professor had prepared for duelling, he had the impression as if he had learned more than he had learned in Professor Quirrell's class since the beginning of the school year.

HP

Unfortunately, Monday night was the night of the full moon, and on Saturday morning, Harry noticed already that he was more affected by the illness than usual. He tried to hide from his housemates how bad he felt, however, when Hermione witnessed that he told Neville he wouldn't be able to tutor him on that day, she dragged him to Madam Pomfrey.

She immediately waved her wand over him, muttering to herself as she proceeded with her check. Finally, she informed him, "It's probably worse this time because your condition was still not good after you caught the wizard's flu. I'm sorry sweetie, but you really have to take care of yourself. No Quidditch, no classes and no brewing until twenty-four hours after the full moon."

"No!" Harry replied in a very upset voice. "I always attend classes before and after the full moon, and I fully intend to continue this here, as I don't want anyone to find out about it."

"Harry, behave yourself," Hermione admonished him lightly. "You know that Madam Pomfrey only wants to help you."

"Sorry," Harry muttered and returned to his room, where he spent the day translating the titles and explanations of the first potions recipes in Slytherin's book.

HP

Afraid that Madam Pomfrey and Hermione would prevent him from apparating home on Sunday afternoon, he went to visit his parents and Brightbird on Saturday evening. While his parents scolded him lightly for apparating and possibly worsening his condition, Brightbird was extremely excited about the information that Harry gave him.

"Harry, most of these potions we still have in this time, however, out of the twenty recipes of which you translated the information, there are about three, of which I've never heard before," the goblin told him. He marked the three potions and asked the boy to translate the complete text. "One day, preferably when you're in a better condition, we'll talk about what to do with the recipes," he then said. "You could either brew the potions and sell them, or you could publish the recipes under the name of Salazar Slytherin as the inventor and you as the translator. You can think about it, and we'll discuss it at another time."

"All right sir," Harry agreed and apparated straight back into his own room at Hogwarts, hoping that no one had missed him during his absence.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind feedback here and on Facebook!_


	15. Chapter 15

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

The next full moon was on Halloween, and this time Harry only had to miss the Halloween feast, which he did not overly regret, knowing that Halloween was the day, on which his birth parents had been murdered.

Like she had done on the previous full moon, Gwenlin came to Hogwarts to stay with Harry during the night. Harry felt very happy and comforted by his mother's presence and was relieved that the effects were not as bad as during the last full moon.

Only when Harry dragged himself to the Great Hall in the morning, did he hear what had happened at Hogwarts during the previous evening.

"Someone let a troll into the school, and two Gryffindor first-years were injured badly," Hermione informed him.

"Ron and Seamus wanted to keep Professor Snape from getting behind the three-headed dog and ran straight into the troll," Neville told them, when he joined the friends in the entrance hall.

"What rubbish," Hermione blurted out, giving Neville a bewildered look.

"They think that the dog is guarding something, because Seamus noticed that he's sitting on a trap door," Neville informed them, causing Hermione to shake her head in annoyance.

"Professor Snape's a teacher here. Why would he want to get something that's hidden behind a three-headed dog? This is just ridiculous."

"Oh well," Neville changed the topic. "What I wanted to ask is, are we going to have Potions tutoring tomorrow morning Harry? I really need it, but Hermione told me you were ill last night."

"I'm fine now," Harry replied, smiling at the boy, with whom he had become good friends during the last month.

HP

During his Defence Against the Dark Arts class on Sunday morning, Harry noticed in surprise that the professor was limping badly.

"Are you all right sir?" he asked in concern. "Should we skip our class today?"

"I'm fine," Snape growled, casting the Expelliarmus spell at Harry.

However, Harry already knew the professor's tactics and was not unprepared. Thus, he could easily dodge the spell. _'This is strange though. Maybe Neville was right and Snape tried to get behind that dog,'_ he thought.

During the last month, Snape and Harry had both made efforts and got along well. Harry did not receive any detentions, however, he could not help the professor with the brewing either, simply because he didn't have time to assist, as Madam Pomfrey insisted that he needed more rest and had to go to bed at curfew. To Harry's chagrin, he was not even allowed to read in bed, so that he barely had a chance to continue translating the potions recipes, apart from Saturday afternoons.

_'On the other hand, I can't really imagine that he'd want to steal something that the school would be hiding. Oh well, at least I don't have these stupid detentions anymore, and Snape behaves civically,_' he thought.

However, four weeks later, even Hermione changed her opinion about the Potions Master.

HP

Harry's first Quidditch match took place on the day before the day of the full moon. Harry inwardly groaned upon noticing the date of the Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff match; however, he did not allow anyone to talk him out of playing, not even the healer.

"It's not the day of the full moon but the day before, so it's not a big deal," he told Pomfrey in the morning, already used to guardians who tried to keep him at home over the days before and after the full moon.

Together with the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, he mounted his broom, not noticing two green parrots sitting on branches of the first row of trees. He circled over the pitch for a while, hoping that he'd be able to find the Snitch quickly on this cold afternoon. _'It looks as if it was going to snow later on_,' he thought, realising that it would be difficult to spot the Snitch between the low hanging clouds. _'It's easier on Goblin Island, where the weather during the day is always warm and sunny,'_ he mused, once again feeling slightly homesick in spite of already having been at Hogwarts for three months.

_'I hope the twins will come and visit me again tomorrow,'_ he thought. _'Too bad that the day of the full moon is a Sunday. On the other hand, it's good of course, so that I don't have to struggle through classes.'_ He was deeply engrossed in his thoughts, while feverishly searching for the Snitch, when he suddenly realised that his broomstick began to make strange movements which he could not control. He was barely able to keep himself on his broom. _'What's happening?'_ he thought, as he feverishly worked against the jinx that someone had to be casting from the ground.

HP

Harry's classmates first thought that he was showing up on his broom, when his broom began to strangely move back and forth; however, when Harry ended up hanging from his broom only able to grip it with his hands, Hermione realised that something was wrong. _'He wouldn't deliberately do such a thing, especially not during a Quidditch match, let alone on the day before the full moon,' _she thought. Casting a wandless zoom charm at herself, she frantically skimmed the crowd, before she stood up in determination.

"What are you doing?" Terry enquired.

"It's Snape," Hermione mumbled. "He's standing there jinxing Harry's broom." Before her classmates knew what happened, she stormed out of the students' stand and towards the teachers' stand. Shoving Professor Quirrell out of the way, not caring that he stumbled into the row in front of him, she quietly reached Snape and set fire to his robes. On her way back to the Ravenclaw stand, she noticed in relief that Harry was able to pull himself back onto his broom and continue his flight.

HP

_'Thank Merlin,'_ Harry thought, noticing in relief that he was able to pull himself up onto his broom again. _'Whatever it was, it has stopped.'_ A few minutes later, he landed on the ground, carefully spitting out the Snitch that he had only been able to catch by almost swallowing it.

"It was Snape," Hermione informed him, while the Ravenclaws stormed onto the pitch. "He was jinxing your broom."

"Nonsense," Hagrid threw in, who was standing nearby. "Why would Professor Snape do such a thing?"

"Because he hates me," Harry replied in a small voice.

"Harry, let's go and speak with the headmaster," Hermione said in a firm voice. "It's too dangerous for you to have Defence classes with Professor Snape if he wants to kill you."

"Let me just go and change," Harry replied in a daze. As quickly as he could in spite of feeling awful, noticing that the potions which he had taken earlier had worn off, he took a hot shower and dressed in his school clothes. He was the last to leave the changing rooms.

Hermione was still outside waiting for him and cast him a concerned look that turned into disbelief, when Jane and Kengo all of a sudden appeared right in front of them.

"Jane and Kengo, what are you doing here?" Harry blurted out with a combination of surprise and joy.

"We came to observe the match..."

"... we watched everything from the trees over there..."

"... in our Animagus forms," the twins told them and informed them that they had seen Professors Quirrell and Snape cast charms at Harry's broom.

"Oh no, I'm so stupid," Hermione concluded. "That means it must have been Quirrell to curse the broom, and Snape was probably speaking the counter curse."

"That's what we think," the twins agreed.

"Don't worry about it though Harry..."

"... Dad told us they've found a way to get rid of the spirit..."

"... they just can't do it right now because they need your help..."

"... which isn't possible so close to the full moon."

"Oh thank Merlin," Harry replied, letting out a relieved sigh. "When and how..."

"Dad will tell you everything tomorrow..."

"... He's going to accompany Mum here tomorrow," the twins promised.

HP

A week later, on Saturday evening, Harry slowly walked to the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor's office. To his utmost relief, his father and five other goblins were already waiting for him in the small alcove near the office, where they had agreed to meet.

One of the goblins, who introduced himself as Birchhook, repeated the instructions, which Harry had already received from his father. "You only need to give us a sign, when you feel the spirit take over the professor's mind, which you will be able to sense as the pain in your scar should intensify."

"All right sir," Harry replied, feeling very unsure about the matter on the one hand, but reassured on the other hand due to his father's presence.

"Let's apparate inside the office," Birchhook instructed the small group, and together with the goblins, Harry apparated straight into Quirrell's office.

His scar began to hurt immediately. He kept an eye on Birchhook, knowing that the goblin would cast a spell to make Voldemort's spirit come to the front. As soon as Birchhook moved his hand towards the professor, who had jumped up from his chair in confusion at the appearance of Harry and the goblins, he felt the pain in his scar become tenfold.

"Now," he quickly uttered, causing the six goblins to wave their hands at the possessed professor.

"Kill the boy before they kill me you idiot," he heard Voldemort shout; however, Quirrell did not have a chance to obey, before a black cloud emerged from his head and he sank to the floor, unconscious.

While his colleagues pointed their hands at the black cloud, Buckbean told Harry, "Well done son. Now let's apparate back to your chamber."

Harry gladly followed his father's instructions, feeling very comforted when Buckbean arrived in his room at the same time.

"What's going to happen to Quirrell, Dad?" he asked, thoughtfully. "Will he be completely all right now? And what if he tells the headmaster that I was there together with a group of goblins?"

Buckbean remained pensive for an instant, before he replied, "Don't worry about that Harry. My colleagues will wipe that certain memory from Quirrell's brain, before they'll leave him in front of the hospital wing, so that he'll get help as soon as possible. If he'll ever be all right again I do not know."

"All right Dad, thank you very much," Harry said, relieved. "I'll go and inform Madam Pomfrey then. She'll keep the secret."

"I know son," Buckbean replied, smiling. He hugged his son and instructed him to take care of himself, just when Madam Pomfrey entered the room, alerted by Helga that Harry needed to speak with her.

Buckbean quickly told her what happened, and Pomfrey nodded in apparent relief.

"Thank you so much for solving our problem this way. It'll be much safer for Harry now," she said, smiling, before she bustled away to check on Professor Quirrell.

HP

On Sunday morning, Professor Dumbledore informed everyone in the Great Hall that Professor Quirrell, who seemed to have been possessed by Voldemort's spirit, had been attacked by unknown persons. "Due to the possession, he was greatly injured and has been taken to St. Mungo's. Therefore, all Defence Against the Dark Arts classes will be cancelled until we find a new Defence professor," he announced.

_'Thank Merlin,'_ Harry thought. Even if he knew that the professor was not possessed anymore, it would have been strange to have Professor Quirrell around. Naturally, his classes with Professor Snape were now cancelled as well, and Harry had to admit to himself that he was disappointed. In spite of his missing abilities of explaining during the Potions class, Snape had been an extremely talented Defence teacher and had behaved civically towards Harry during the last few weeks.

"Thank you for teaching me all this time sir," he thanked the professor, when he addressed the older wizard in order to confirm that his Defence classes were cancelled now.

"You're welcome Mr. Potter," Snape replied, sounding bored.

"If you ever need assistance with potions for the hospital wing, I could help now on Sunday mornings," Harry continued, raising an eyebrow at the professor.

"I can always use an assistant," Snape replied, his voice void of emotion.

_'That's probably the best answer that I can get,'_ Harry understood and promised to assist on Sunday mornings.

HP

The following weeks passed quietly, and soon it was time for the students to travel back home for Christmas. Harry couldn't wait to go back to Goblin Island, although he had to admit to himself that he was very lucky, as in contrary to all the other students, he was able to travel home every Sunday.

Like everyone else, Harry and Hermione took the Hogwarts Express to King's Cross, where Hermione's parents collected the excited children.

On the day after Christmas, the Quidditch match Children's team versus the team of the adults took place, which Harry ended by catching the Snitch after mere thirteen minutes.

Apart from his Quidditch activities, Harry spent most of the time with his siblings playing on the beach and talking about what they had learned during the last months at their respective schools. He also questioned them how they had managed to become Animagi so quickly and begged them to practise with him. However, during the two weeks of Christmas holidays, Harry did not manage as much as transform his left hand, which was the first step to the transformation.

Sometimes, he visited Brightbird, who held a long conversation with Harry about possibly publishing a book with lost potions recipes. Unable to decide what he wanted, Harry convinced the teacher to once again speak about the matter at a later time, when he had translated more of the recipes. _'So far I've only finished one book out of sixty,'_ he thought, resolving to somehow trying to find more time during the rest of the school year.

HP

Apart from a Quidditch victory versus the Slytherin team, the following months passed fairly uneventfully - until Snape and Harry had a huge fight at the end of May.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments. You have no idea what they mean to me!_


	16. Chapter 16

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

It was on the day of the full moon, and as usual on these days, Harry had hidden his ailments by concealment charms. However, on this day, he felt worse than usual, his fever was a tad higher and his ears were strangely sore and completely clogged up. Unable to hurry from the Transfiguration classroom to the Potions classroom fast enough, he arrived two minutes late, when Snape had just began his class.

"Five points from Ravenclaw," the professor bellowed; however, Harry was so glad to be able to sit down that he couldn't care less. He slipped into his seat next to Lisa Turpin, who had changed seats with Hermione a few weeks ago in order to receive help with Potions from Harry after failing her midterm test. Unbeknownst to Harry, who could not hear anything that was not said fairly loudly, the professor informed the class that the potion which they had to brew would count as an additional test and that therefore no help would be tolerated.

Harry fetched his ingredients and quietly began to brew his potion. It was the potion for sunburn, which for him was very easy. Like most of the first-year potions he knew it by heart. While he concentrated on the brewing process, from a corner of his eyes he observed Lisa begin to add her ingredients. Just when his own potion was on a stage, where it had to simmer for two minutes before completion, he noticed that Lisa began to stir clockwise after adding moon fern to her concoction.

"Anti-clockwise," he hissed, nodding contentedly when the girl immediately followed his advice.

However, this did not go well with the Potions Master. He towered over Harry and said icily, "How dare you ignore my instructions Potter? Detention with me until the end of the school year."

Harry stared at the professor, whose eyes were blazing with anger. "I'm sorry sir, I can't hear well today. Is something wrong?"

"Fifty points for your insolence Potter," Snape roared, banishing Harry's and Lisa's potions with a flick of his wand.

"Professor, Harry is ill and didn't hear your instruction not to help anyone," Hermione tried to make the teacher see reason to no avail.

"If Mr. Potter is ill, he shouldn't attend classes. Twenty points from Ravenclaw for disturbing my class," Snape hissed, before he returned to his desk in apparent anger.

_'Don't ssay anything else__,'_ Iro thought to Harry. _'He'sss in a bad mood and won't sssee reason.'_

HP

Only when Snape dismissed the students, did Harry hear from Hermione what happened.

"Oh no," he said, groaning. "Please tell Lisa that I'm very sorry. I'll go back to my room and ask Madam Pomfrey to excuse me for today."

"Really?" Hermione stared at her best friend in shock, knowing that he had barely ever missed classes during the full moon so far. "I'll accompany you," she decided, knowing that Harry had to feel very miserable to willingly miss classes. "I'll explain everything to Madam Pomfrey."

Harry nodded contentedly and went straight to bed, not even bothering to change into pyjamas.

A few minutes later, Madam Pomfrey entered his room with Hermione in tow. Looking at Harry in surprise, she magically exchanged his clothes, before she waved her wand over him multiple times.

"I'll be back in a minute," she said to Hermione, who had made herself comfortable on the edge of Harry's bed, somehow sensing that he needed her company. The healer returned in the blink of an eye, handing Harry a small goblet.

"Can you hear me now?" she asked in a soft voice after taking back the empty goblet.

"Yes Madame. Thank you so much," Harry moaned.

"You've caught a middle ear infection on top of the Blue Moon disease," Pomfrey informed him. She cleared her throat in thought, before she continued, "I suggest that you cancel the concealment charms for the time being, as they only aggravate your condition. You're going to remain here in bed for at least three days, and I'll exchange a stern word with Professor Snape tonight. You won't be able to attend any detention for at least a week anyway."

"Thank you so much," Harry replied, feeling very much consoled to have the kind healer on his side against the unfair professor.

Harry spent most of the day sleeping, however, he felt very depressed about this morning's happenings, not only because Lisa had received zero points in the test because of him, but also because his relationship with the professor of his favourite subject was so bad again in spite of all his efforts to get along with the older wizard. To his relief, Hermione remained at his side the whole day, until later his mother took her place on the edge of his bed.

HP

At the same time, Madam Pomfrey had a stern conversation with her youngest colleague. However, even the healer was not able to convince the Potions Master to let Harry out of his detention.

"If he's ill and especially if he can't hear a word, he shouldn't be in class," Snape insisted, "and certainly not in a Potions class that can be really dangerous."

"Harry is ill so often that he insists on attending classes," Pomfrey explained, patiently. "If it's not too bad, I usually let him go. Now however, he has aggravated his condition so much that I must excuse him from classes and detention at least for the rest of the week."

"Well done Severus," McGonagall threw in, sounding very angry.

"The boy's like his father, behaves as if Hogwarts belonged to him," Snape countered. "It's about time that he learns to keep to the rules."

"Severus," the headmaster threw in, calmingly. "If you insist on making the boy serve detention for the rest of the school year, would you at least be willing to make him brew potions? You'll surely both profit from such a solution."

However, the Potions Master shook his head. "No Albus. Then it wouldn't be a detention."

Dumbledore sighed. "Very well then, as you know Harry is not allowed to serve any detention during the weekends."

HP

During the remaining weeks of the school year, Harry had to scrub dirty cauldrons every evening except for Saturdays and Sundays. On Saturday mornings, he was still tutoring Neville, while he spent the afternoons in the Ravenclaw common room together with his friends. On Sunday mornings, he used his now free time, during which he had always assisted Snape, to continue translating recipes from Slytherin's books, and on Sunday afternoons, he apparated home in order to visit his family and Brightbird and attend Quidditch practice.

When he told Brightbird how Snape was treating him yet again, the goblin Potions Master remained thoughtful. "Harry, come back here after Quidditch practice. Until then I'll have a potion ready, which you can spell right into his stomach. Or better ask a house-elf to do it and don't do it yourself, in case he questions you under Veritaserum," he added as an afterthought.

Harry chuckled. For the first time in weeks, he really felt amused at the thought that his Potions teacher was willing to get back at his human colleague for his behaviour towards him.

"What is it going to do to him?" he asked, curiously, when he returned to the Potions classroom after his practice with the Children's team.

"That's for you to find out," Brightbird replied, grinning mischievously.

HP

Back at Hogwarts, Harry searched out Helena and asked her if she could spell the potion into Snape's stomach.

"Of course I'll do that for you little one," Helena promised, smiling at the boy.

"Maybe better on Wednesday or Thursday," Harry said, thoughtfully, "so that it'll be evident that I wouldn't have had the time to brew anything."

"Yes, that's true," Helena agreed, chuckling. "Can you brew the antidote to Veritaserum?"

"I don't know," Harry replied, thoughtfully. "I'll look for the recipe though. Maybe that's a good idea, as Snape surely will want to question me."

HP

During his following two detentions, Harry used the time to search the bookshelves for the recipe of the antidote to Veritaserum. Finally, he found it in an NEWT level book. He wandlessly copied the page and slid the copy into his inner robe pocket, definitely not wanting Snape to catch him brew such a potion during his detention. Instead, he brewed it in his own potions lab in the Ravenclaw quarters during his free period that had originally been Defence Against the Dark Arts on Wednesday morning. Knowing that the potion would work over twenty-four hours, he immediately took a dose, leaving the other phials in the lab.

Entering the Great Hall, Harry whispered to his friends, "Let's sit near the high table today." Hermione, Mandy and Terry exchanged a surprised look but nonetheless complied. During dinner time, Harry unobtrusively let his eyes wander to the high table every now and then, however, he noticed nothing out of the ordinary. Only when he had almost finished eating, a huge gasp sounded through the Great Hall, and like everyone else, Harry turned his eyes to the high table.

In surprise he realised that the Potions Master's features had taken on those of a goblin, and he could not help chuckling. _'Brightbird is brilliant,'_ he thought with amusement. Seeing Hermione cast him a questioning look, Harry merely shrugged with a small smile playing on his lips.

"How?" she mouthed.

"Brightbird," he whispered back, causing the girl to stare at him in surprise.

"Severus," they could hear the headmaster speak up in his usual, gentle voice. "Do you have any idea who might have done this to you?"

"Potter," Snape replied in a high, pitchy voice that made all students sitting near the teachers' table smirk. "Or some of the seventh years. None of the other students would be able to brew such a complicated potion."

_'Nor do I,'_ Harry thought, however he knew better than to voice his thoughts. _'Maybe I would, if I had the recipe.'_

"Headmaster, I insist that you question Potter and the seventh years under Veritaserum," they heard Snape demand in his uncharacteristic, childish voice.

"Severus, you must understand that I can't question so many students, especially since they have to agree on being questioned under Veritaserum," Dumbledore replied kindly.

"Then at least Potter," Snape insisted.

"Very well, then let's take him with us to my office and ask him right away," the headmaster decided, inviting the other heads of house to join them.

Hermione cast Harry a worried look, when Professor Flitwick walked by the Ravenclaw table and said casually, "Mr. Potter, please follow me to the headmaster's office."

"It's all right," Harry whispered to the girl in a soothing voice and hurried to follow his head of house.

Flitwick led Harry to a small alcove casting a silencing charm, before he queried, "Harry, will you tell me the truth please? Was it you?"

Harry sighed. "Brightbird brewed it, when I told him how Snape treats me, and I gave it to the Grey Lady," he admitted.

"At least you didn't brew it yourself," Flitwick replied, sighing. "He's going to question you under Veritaserum, but they can only question you with your consent."

"That's all right sir," Harry admitted, knowing that he could trust his old teacher. "I've taken he antidote to Veritaserum."

A smile of excitement spread over the Charms professor's face, and he said, "Let's go then."

Together, they apparated right in front of the gargoyle in order to save some minutes. Flitwick gave the password, and a few seconds later, the two wizards entered the headmaster's office.

HP

"Harry," Dumbledore spoke up, offering the boy a lemon drop, which Harry as usually declined. "Professor Snape believes that you're the only student who would be capable of brewing a potion like the one that someone gave to Professor Snape today."

Harry let out a snort. "Professor, I feel honoured that Professor Snape deems me able to brew such a potion, however, I have to disappoint you. I don't have a clue how to brew such a thing," he replied, honestly.

"Then you will surely agree that Professor Snape questions you under Veritaserum," Dumbledore continued, giving Harry a questioning look.

Harry shrugged, before he replied, "I trust you, Headmaster, and if you'll see to it that Professor Snape doesn't ask anything else, I'll agree."

Dumbledore gave Snape a short nod. "Only one drop please, Severus."

The Potions Master rose from his chair, pulled a tiny phial out of his robe pocket and stepped over to Harry, letting just one drop fall onto Harry's tongue.

"What's your name?" Snape queried.

"Harry Potter," Harry replied, knowing that he had to reply immediately, so as if it was automatically, if he didn't want to arise the professors' suspicion.

"What's your birthday?" Snape asked, causing Harry to reply with the correct date.

"The Veritaserum seems to work," the Potions Master acknowledged and began his interrogation.

"Did you brew the potion that was given to me today?"

"No."

"Do you know who brewed it?"

"A goblin."

"Who was it?"

"I don't know," Harry lied around the Veritaserum.

"Who gave me the potion?"

"A ghost."

"Which ghost?"

"I don't know," Harry replied, before Dumbledore held out his hand to stop the Potions Master.

"Severus, you've heard that Harry has nothing to do with your predicament. Please give him the antidote to the Veritaserum now."

Harry gave the headmaster a grateful look and accepted a tiny phial from the Slytherin head. _'Thank Merlin that went well,'_ he thought.

"Come on Potter. Detention." Snape's high, childish voice brought Harry back to reality.

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Harry followed the Potions Master out of the headmaster's office, smiling at the professors who remained.

_'I wonder how long it'll take until it wears off,'_ he thought, as he followed the Slytherin head towards the dungeons, for once easily able to keep up with the professor's uncharacteristically slow pace.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments. You have no idea what they mean to me!_


	17. Chapter 17

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

The potion took a whole week to wear off, and as much as Harry silently enjoyed Snape's predicament and felt extremely grateful towards Brightbird for pranking the Slytherin head so efficiently, Snape's mood was at a zero point, and he let Harry feel it in his detentions and during the Potions class. To Harry it seemed as if he had to clean a larger amount of dirty cauldrons every day, and in class, he ended up fighting with the professor every other time.

Two days after being questioned with Veritaserum was the day of the last full moon before the summer holidays. Not being his usual self, Harry accidentally messed up his potion, however, knew how to remedy the matter and was just on his way to fetch the necessary ingredients, when Snape glanced at his potion and banished it wearing a contented expression. Instead of accepting the zero points, Harry began a discussion with the professor, ending up with five hundred lines to write within twenty-four hours. _'And that today?'_ Harry thought, horrified; however, the professor merely smirked at his terrified expression.

Harry skipped lunch and History of Magic, sitting at his desk writing lines. When Hermione came to fetch him on time for Transfiguration, which was the last afternoon class, he had just managed to write the sentence one hundred times.

"Harry, you know as well as I do that you won't be able to write this tonight," Hermione spoke up in a lecturing tone. "You have two possibilities. Either you ask Madam Pomfrey to get you out of this..."

"No," Harry interrupted her quickly, while scribbling another sentence.

"Or I take your parchment with me and ask in the Ravenclaw common room who'd be willing to help writing. I'm sure Flitwick will see it as a pleasure to charm the writing afterwards to look like yours," Hermione suggested, smiling.

Knowing that he had neither the energy to fight his energetic friend nor the ability to write anything during the night, Harry handed over the parchment and quietly followed the girl to the Transfiguration classroom.

"Don't worry Harry. They'll be happy to help you. Everyone is aware of the fact that they owe it to you that Ravenclaw is probably going to win the Quidditch cup," Hermione said in a soothing voice, causing Harry to roll his eyes in annoyance.

HP

In the morning, Hermione handed him several parchments containing the five hundred sentences for Professor Snape in Harry's hand writing.

Feeling very happy at his housemates' invaluable help, Harry used his detention to brew a huge batch of chocolate drops for them. Unbeknownst to the Ravenclaws, the drops contained a weak but yet efficient prank potion that made blue bubbles come out of their mouths whenever they spoke for the rest of the evening, entertaining everyone in the common room. The head boy, who was a Ravenclaw seventh year and had not tasted the drops yet, even took a small plate with chocolate drops and offered them to the teachers who were having tea in Madam Pomfrey's office as usual. Unaware of the circumstances under which Harry had brewed them, he admitted that the Ravenclaws had received them from Harry who was very good at Potions.

Apparently not one hundred percent sure where and when Harry had brewed the chocolate drops, Snape merely took points from Ravenclaw, when Harry showed up for his detention the following evening; however, from that day onwards, he supervised Harry's detentions, so that Harry could not do anything but scrub dirty cauldrons.

HP

The final match of the season, Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor, was a huge success for Ravenclaw. Harry managed to catch the Snitch early enough for Ravenclaw to not only win the match 180 - 30 but also the Quidditch cup for the first time since everyone could remember.

Marcus, the Quidditch captain, accepted the trophy from the headmaster and handed it over to Flitwick, who jumped up and down in clear excitement.

Ravenclaw spent the rest of the day having a huge party in the common room, before the students returned to studying on Sunday, since the test week was going to commence on Monday.

HP

During the test week, Harry did not have any time to study due to his detentions that lasted until curfew every night. He felt absolutely exhausted and even outright ill; however, he knew that he was ahead of most of his classmates due to his education on Goblin Island and just tried to do his best in the tests. Every day, Madam Pomfrey offered to excuse him from his detention, however, knowing that Snape would use any opportunity to ridicule him, Harry always declined. Finally, the test week was over, and the students more or less enjoyed the last week before the holidays.

_'If only Snape didn't supervise me,'_ Harry thought, while he busied himself in the Potions classroom on the last evening before the leaving feast with the useless task of cleaning cauldrons. _'During the summer, I'll speak with Brightbird. Maybe there's some way to get out of Potions class. Even if I really want to study Potions, it's impossible with Snape as the teacher.'_

While he did his work, deeply engrossed in his thoughts, Madam Pomfrey stepped out of the fireplace. "Severus and Harry, I need you both urgently," she spoke up in a stern voice. Seeing the two wizards look at her in silent question, she explained, "The whole Gryffindor tower has taken ill with the Squid's pox. They need the potion for the Squid's pox as well as the salve for their rash and fever reducers as soon as possible, and everyone else needs the preventive potion during the next few hours, if possible before curfew. Otherwise, all students will be unable to travel home on Saturday, as I'd need to quarantine everyone. Can you work together and brew enough of all of these potions please?"

Snape and Harry exchanged a glance, before they nodded, simultaneously.

"Set up your cauldron here," Snape instructed the boy, while he set up two cauldrons on the next table.

Harry complied and looked at the Potions Master for further instructions. "The pox potion is the most complicate and takes very long to brew. Will you be able to brew the other potions, while I deal with the pox potion?" Snape queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes, but wouldn't it be better if I first prepared the ingredients for the pox potion and you brewed it sir?"

Snape agreed and laid out the recipe for Harry. "It takes seven hours to brew the potion for the Squid's pox. Maybe with your help we'll manage it in five hours, and whenever one of us has time, we need to brew the other potions simultaneously."

While Harry prepared the ingredients, Snape laid out the recipes for the other potions, before he began to brew the Squid's pox potion. Between the preparation of the ingredients, Harry brewed the preventive potion, before they took turns brewing the other requested items. As soon as a batch was ready, they called Pomfrey, who came herself or sent the heads of the houses to collect the potions.

_'It's like brewing together with Brightbird,'_ Harry thought. _'Snape is almost nice tonight.'_ In spite of being very tired, he really enjoyed himself. Nevertheless, he was relieved beyond belief, when they finished the last potion at five o'clock in the morning. Together, they carried the last batches to Pomfrey, who made each of them drink the preventive potion and told Harry that he was exempt from his morning classes.

"Thank you Madame, but I will go to class," Harry replied in a firm voice, before he retreated to his room for a cat nap.

HP

At breakfast, a black raven landed on the Ravenclaw table right in front of Harry, holding out a small parchment to the boy. Harry took the parchment and fed the raven a piece of his bacon, before he curiously unfolded the letter.

_Potter,  
understand your tonight's detention as served last night._

_SS_

_'Thank Merlin,_' Harry thought. _'I wouldn't want to miss the leaving feast.'_

HP

The leaving feast was indeed worth attending. When Harry entered the Great Hall together with his friends, the complete Hall was decorated in Slytherin colours.

"Apparently Slytherin won the house cup," Hermione stated the obvious.

"Thanks to Snape from taking so many points from us," Terry added, glaring in the direction of the Slytherin table.

As soon as the students had taken their seats, the headmaster rose from his chair and greeted them.

"Another year over," he said, sounding cheerful. "And I believe that we have the house cup to award. The house points stand thus: in fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and two points, in third, Hufflepuff with three hundred and twenty points, in second place Ravenclaw with four hundred and sixty-two points, and Slytherin have four hundred and eightly-six."

A huge tumult began at the Slytherin table. "Yes, well done Slytherin," Dumbledore commended the snakes' house. "However, there are still some recent points that have to be considered. If not for our Harry Potter, who spent most of the last night assisting Professor Snape, many of you would not be able to travel home tomorrow. Others would have missed tonight's feast. Therefore, I award twenty-five points to Ravenclaw." Looking at the decoration, he clapped his hands and added, "I believe that a change in decoration is in order."

The Ravenclaw house cheered loudly, while the Slytherins became very quiet, as it became evident who had won the house cup.

"Congratulations to Ravenclaw for winning the house cup and the Quidditch cup!" Dumbledore concluded his speech, cheerfully.

"And both because of you," Hermione whispered into Harry's ear, causing the boy to fiercely shake his head.

Nevertheless, Harry felt very happy, especially after Flitwick excitedly jumped from his high chair and informed everyone that it was the first time in thirteen years that Ravenclaw had won the house cup and the first time after thirty-one years that they had won the Quidditch cup. "Ravenclaw has never won both cups in one year. Well done ravens. I'm very proud of you all," he said, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"He's a great head of house," Harry said in a quiet voice, and everyone sitting nearby agreed.

The following house party in Ravenclaw was loud and lasted the whole night, most of which Harry was peacefully asleep in front of the fireplace.

When he apologized to Helga in the morning, she smiled at him and said soothingly, "Don't worry, Madam Pomfrey did not expect you to return here last night. Congratulations to the house cup and the Quidditch cup. Well done sweetie!"

HP

A few hours later, Harry clambered into the Hogwarts Express and managed to get a compartment together with his best friends, Hermione, Mandy, Terry, Neville, Lisa and Susan. It was a bit cramped, especially as the Weasley twins joined them for a few hours; however, the soon-to-be second-years had a lot of fun.

Hermione glanced around, smiling. "All right now here's the incentive for next year," she spoke up, making everyone look at her in expectation. "Our best friends are from three different houses, but we don't have a single friend from Slytherin in our midst. Now next year we should try to make friends with at least one Slytherin."

"That's true," Harry immediately agreed.

"I think Millicent Bulstrode and Blaise Zabini are quite nice," Mandy informed them, explaining, "I've met them in the library the other time and helped them with their Charms homework."

HP

Although Harry knew that his parents could not come to the station in order to not blow his cover, he wished they could. However, Hermione's parents were there, and Harry rode the car back home with them. In between telling the adults about Hogwarts and the house cup that they had won in the last minute, the two friends made plans for the summer holidays and agreed that Hermione should come to Goblin Island whenever she had time.

HP

Harry was surprised that he did not find it strange to be back at home although he had spent ten months at Hogwarts. _'Probably because I came home almost every Sunday anyway,'_ he thought, happily allowing his parents and siblings to pull him into hugs.

"So how did you get on with your end of year tests?" Gwenlin asked in concern, since Harry had not been well enough to come home on the Sunday after the test week.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know," he replied, helplessly. "I think I did all right, but I'll only receive the results some time during the holidays. But we won both the Quidditch cup and the house cup this year, which according to Flitwick is a first."

The twins chuckled.

"Let's guess..."

"... with you as the Seeker..."

"... the other houses didn't have a chance," they commented, causing Harry to smile.

"I was really lucky," he replied, feeling very happy to be back at home for a while.

HP

On Sunday afternoon, Harry visited Brightbird and told him why he did not have time to translate any more recipes during the last two weeks.

"What a strange professor," Brightbird said, thoughtfully.

Harry let out a long sigh. "The other night when he didn't get around brewing together with me, he was really all right, and it was as if I was brewing together with you. It was great. But usually..." He slowly trailed off and remained thoughtful for a moment, before he asked, "Is there any way to get out of Potions class? Probably not, right? It's supposed to be one of the main subjects."

Brightbird stared at the boy, pensively. "Is that really what you want?" he asked, finally. "Wouldn't you miss brewing potions in class?"

"I probably would," Harry admitted, averting his eyes to the floor, as he explained, "But I've been in detention since the first day of classes and almost during the whole school year, and I miss everything that occurs in the common room. I don't have any time to spend with my friends, let alone to do research."

"I understand," Brightbird replied, nodding in understanding. "We need to ask Flitwick," he then continued, "but I believe that there would be a way, provided that you're willing to spend most of the next four weeks working."

"Of course sir," Harry replied, looking at the goblin in expectation.

_tbc..._

_Thanks a lot to the kind readers who always feed me muse. You have no idea what they mean to me!_


	18. Chapter 18

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

"At the goblin school, students usually take their Potions OWLs after their eighth year and their NEWTs after their tenth year," Brightbird explained. "Taking these exams is not mandatory though. I know that you're well capable of taking your OWLs, even the NEWTs; however, you'd have to at least once brew all of the potions that we cover in our fifth to eighth year. You only finished fourth year, is that correct?"

"Yes sir," Harry confirmed, before he said in a firm voice, "I'd like to do this, I mean brew all the potions and take my OWL if it's possible."

"It is," Brightbird replied, grinning. "Since the school year is going to end in two weeks' time, the OWLs are going to take place next week." Noticing Harry look at him in clear shock, he continued, "However, there's always another date for those who failed their exam or want to re-try for a better grade. You could even try to take the OWL next week and would still be able to re-do it in August. It's completely up to you."

"Do you think I could pass it, sir?" Harry enquired, excitedly.

"Yes," Brightbird replied shortly.

"Won't Hogwarts know that I took the OWL on Goblin Island, sir?" Harry asked, hesitantly.

"No. Everything is organised by the department within the Ministry of Magic that is responsible for everything concerning us goblins. However, you will receive a normal OWL certificate like those that are handed out to the humans. Your professors might wonder how you came to take your OWL after only finishing your first Hogwarts year, but that's not our problem. They won't find out," the teacher explained, smirking.

HP

Exactly ten days later, Harry was - according to what the examiner from the Ministry of Magic told him - the youngest student who had ever taken his Potions OWL.

_'I just hope I passed it with a good grade,'_ Harry thought and decided to nevertheless brew all the potions of which Brightbird told him that they were fifth to eighth year material.

"No," Gwenlin told him in a firm voice. "You're not going to brew anything until you receive the results. Madam Pomfrey sent me a long letter explaining about your condition during the last school year, and she recommended that you should rest as much as possible. At least for these two weeks, you're going to take a break, and I'll tell Brightbird as much."

"Don't worry Harry..."

"... you're not going to be bored," the twins promised, grinning at Hermione, who - as usual during the holidays - spent most of the time on Goblin Island. Only when her parents were going to close their practice for a few weeks in July, she would go on holidays with them.

"Let's practise the Animagus transformation," Hermione spoke up in excitement. "Sorry Jane and Kengo, I know it's nothing new for you, but Harry and I want to learn it too."

"Yes, that's true," Harry agreed, enthusiastically. "I can't wait to be able to transform."

Accompanied by Jane's and Kengo's laughter and more or less helpful suggestions, the two friends practised the Animagus transformation at least twice each day. By the time Harry received the result of his Potions OWL, they were both already able to transform their right hands into wings.

"You did it!..."

"... beautiful!" the twins commended them, looking at Hermione's white owl wing and Harry's light blue phoenix wing in apparent amazement.

"Your form's equally pretty," Hermione replied, remembering all too well the twins' parrot forms.

"Yes that's true," Harry agreed, before he asked, "Shall we go home? I'd like to see if the results have arrived."

Triple chuckle followed his question. The three others knew how impatiently Harry was waiting for the results of his exam.

"Harry, here's a letter from the Ministry of Magic," Gwenlin told them as soon as they entered their home.

"And? Did I pass?" Harry asked in excitement.

Gwenlin smirked. "That's for you to tell us son," she replied, handing her son a closed envelope.

Impatiently, Harry tore the envelope open, stared at the parchment inside and let himself sink onto the sofa, closing his eyes.

"What..."

"What does it say?..."

"... Did you pass it?" the twins enquired, observing their younger brother in apparent concern, while Hermione pried the parchment out of his hands.

Her eyes widened, before she read aloud.

_ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS_

_Pass Grades: Outstanding (O), Exceeds Expectations (E), Acceptable (A)_

_Fail Grades: Poor (P), Dreadful (D), Troll (T)_

_Harry James Potter Son of Buckbean has achieved:_

_Potions: O_

She slowly let the parchment sink, staring at her best friend. "Congratulation Harry," she said, smiling happily.

"Congratulation little brother..."

"... you did it!..."

"... you got an O!" the twins shouted, cheerily.

"Yes," Harry confirmed. "Sorry, but I just can't believe it." He jumped from his seat. "I must speak with Brightbird. Will you come with me?"

The twins chuckled. "We'll head to the Teapot..."

"... and eat some ice cream..."

"... to celebrate your victory," they decided, grinning at Hermione.

"All right I'll meet you there," Harry agreed and dashed away, causing everyone to laugh.

HP

An hour later, Harry caught up with his friends, but they realised soon that he was not overly happy.

"Harry, what happened?" Hermione enquired, carefully.

Harry sighed and moaned, "Ah nothing. I just had a disagreement with Brightbird. I asked him if I could try to take my NEWT in August, but he said he had promised Mum to not make me work too hard and that brewing all NEWT potions until then would be too hard. That's all. He said I should brew them during the school year and take the NEWT next summer."

Hermione shot him a glare. "Well, that's only reasonable," she said in a firm voice, causing Harry to roll his eyes in annoyance.

_'It's not,'_ Harry thought, however, not wanting to argue with his best friend, neither with the Potions teacher, he gave in and contented himself to assist Brightbird with the research for a cure.

HP

One day, Iro told him that a few weeks ago she had met a basilisk at Hogwarts.

"A basilissk?" Harry hissed back in disbelief.

"Yesss," Iro confirmed. "She was Salazzzar Slytherin'ss pet and is living in his chambersss in the dungeonsss of Hogwartssss."

"That'ss amazing," Harry said in surprise, making Iro chuckle.

"Yesss it isss," she agreed. "Anyway, her name isss Amaterasu, and she'sss really nice. But she needsss your help."

"My help?" Harry queried, quirking an eyebrow in confusion.

"She told me that she'sss cold. Salazar always lit the fireplace for her, but a few yearsss ago a ssspeaker like you came and switched it off."

"Let'sss go and light it for her then," Harry decided and just readied himself to apparate right away, when Iro stopped him.

"Wait little one," she hissed and informed him that he couldn't just go and meet a basilisk. "If you look into her yellow eyesss, you will die. She told me that Salazzzar always cassst a charm at the whole school groundsss that allowed her to roam the groundsss and the foresst. She taught me the spell and I can teach you. You mussst cast it from a specific point behind the lake. I will show you," Iro promised.

Since everyone else was still asleep, Harry decided to apparate to Hogwarts right away, hoping that none of the teachers would be roaming the Hogwarts grounds that early in the morning.

With Iro's assistance, Harry cast the charm from the point behind the lake that the serpent showed him, explaining that cast at that very point the charm would cover the complete school and its grounds. Finally, he followed his familiar down a slippery path from a hole beginning just over the surface of the lake. 'Oh well, if I didn't know that the hole was there, I'd have never been able to see it,' he had to admit to himself.

All of a sudden, they reached a very large room. _'Almost as big as the Great Hall_,' Harry thought in surprise.

"Don't fret," Iro told him, "she'sss huge."

An instant later, the biggest animal that Harry had ever seen slithered into the room. He was just about to hurriedly close his eyes, not sure if the charm had really worked, when Amaterasu thanked him profusely for casting the charm.

"You have no idea what it meansss to me," she said in the voice of a gentle, old woman.

The thought _'She must be one thousand years old if she was Slytherin's familiar_,' crossed Harry's mind, when the basilisk continued to speak and told him that several years ago a speaker like Harry had come, claiming that he was her owner now.

"He wasss evil," Amaterasu told him. "He made me go out into the school without cassting the charm at me and made me kill a girl."

The basilisk seemed devastated, and Harry quickly reassured her that he would come every year and renew the charm, so that it could not happen again.

"Thank you sssso much my boy," Amaterasu hissed, gratefully. "You're my rightful owner now." She then led the boy to a smaller side room of the large chamber. It was equipped with a group of wooden seats and a table as well as a bookshelf. However, the centre of the room was held by an enormous fireplace.

Harry quickly lit the fire, causing the basilisk to let out a grateful sigh and curl up in the front part of the fireplace. _'That explains its size_,' Harry thought in amusement. He spent a few more minutes speaking with Amaterasu and Iro, before he suddenly became aware of the time and hurriedly excused himself, promising the basilisk to visit her again as soon as he could.

"You can apparate right from here," Iro advised him.

HP

As soon as he arrived in his room, the twins cornered him.

"Harry..."

"... where have you been?"

"We wanted to be the first ones..."

"... to congratulate..."

"Don't tell us we're late," they spoke up, sounding much too awake for the early morning time.

"I've no idea what you're talking about, but I had to run an errand for Iro and went to Hogwarts," Harry replied, staring at his siblings in confusion.

"Have you met anyone?" Jane enquired, glancing at her brother.

"No," Harry said and explained about the basilisk and the charm that he had to cast.

"Well then I won," Jane told Kengo, before she turned back to Harry. "Happy Birthday Harry."

Seeing Harry's puzzled look, Kengo chuckled. "Don't tell us..."

"... that you forgot your birthday," Jane finished the sentence for him.

"Yes I did, but is my birthday a reason to be so excited?" Harry queried, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

_'You should be thankful that they care, unlike the Dursleys who completely ignored your birthday,'_ a small voice spoke up from the back of his mind.

"I'm sorry," Harry quickly apologized.

"That's all right sweetie. We know that you don't like attention," Jane replied and pulled him into a hug.

"Happy Birthday Harry," Kengo said, smirking.

Only when the twins ushered him to get dressed, did Harry realise that he had gone to Hogwarts in his pyjamas. _'Thank Merlin no one apart from the snakes saw me_,' he thought, terrified.

When he wondered why the twins made him hurry in order to be the first ones to eat breakfast in the Teapot, he was even more surprised when they accompanied him to Brightbird afterwards.

"Enjoy yourself for a while..."

"...We'll come and pick you up later on," they informed him, causing Harry to cast the Potions Master a questioning look.

However, the teacher merely smiled and made him brew a potion, which Harry found very difficult.

_tbc..._

_Thanks a lot to the kind readers who always feed me muse. You have no idea what they mean to me!_


	19. Chapter 19

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

Two hours later, when Harry flawlessly finished the potion, Brightbird told him, "This was the most difficult NEWT level potion. If you really want to take your NEWTs next month, you may try. You can still re-do them next year in order to receive a better grade if necessary."

Harry stared at the Potions Master in confusion. "But sir..." he uttered, before he trailed off.

"I didn't say you can't take them," Brightbird clarified. "I just had to promise your mother that you wouldn't overexert yourself, which is why I couldn't make you study for them."

Still confused, Harry replied, "But usually people study for their exams, don't they?"

"Well yes," Brightbird confirmed in apparent amusement. "However, you already have the knowledge as well as the expertise." Reaching out for a parcel on the table behind him, he handed it to Harry. "This is my birthday present for you. You still have time to read through them and see for yourself that you won't have problems."

Harry slowly took off the wrapping paper, revealing the ninth and tenth years' Potions books.

"Thank you very much sir. When is the NEWT exam?" He asked, eagerly, only now really understanding what this was about.

"On the fourteenth of August," Brightbird replied, smirking. "The full moon is on the twentieth."

"I'll try then," Harry informed the teacher. "Thank you so much for arranging this for me."

"You're welcome Harry. I'm proud of you," Brightbird replied, just when Jane and Kengo stormed into the room.

"Thank you sir..."

"... for keeping our brother busy for a while," the twins said to the teacher, before they pulled Harry out of the classroom.

HP

When Harry left the school building together with the twins, he stared at the scene in front of him in disbelief. Hermione was standing in front of the portal that lead to Gringotts. However, she was not alone. She was together with Mandy, Terry, Lisa, Neville, Susan and the Weasley twins.

Within an instant, his friends surrounded him and said "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you all," Harry replied, still unable to believe that his friends had all come to Goblin Island for his birthday.

"Let's go..."

"... We're going to have a birthday party..."

"... on the beach," the twins spoke up, causing the Weasley twins to stare at them with curiosity.

"Hey twins," they spoke up, simultaneously.

Harry observed with amusement how the two couples of twins engrossed themselves in their conversation, while the small group walked around the school building to the beach. _'I wonder what they're talking about,'_ he thought, grinning. He slowly walked behind everyone else, wondering if he should tell his friends about his Potions OWL, unaware of the fact that he would not have a choice.

When Harry and his friends arrived at the spot, where his parents and siblings had prepared a huge buffet for his birthday party, Harry noticed in surprise that the Hogwarts teachers, who had always visited him for his birthday during the last few years, had already arrived and were animatedly talking with his parents. Apart from the adults, several of his goblin friends were present.

_'I wonder if that was Hermione's doing or that of Jane and Kengo,'_ Harry mused. _'Probably all three of them invited the people,'_ he finally realised, feeling very happy to have such an amazing family and friend.

"Welcome to Goblin Island..."

"... and to our little brother's birthday party," the twins greeted everyone. Seeing that Harry's human friends looked at them in surprise, they informed them that Harry was their adoptive brother and had grown up at Goblin Island.

"Please keep this information to yourselves," McGonagall spoke up in a no-nonsense voice that made all Hogwarts students nod their agreement.

"That's why you're so good at Potions," Neville blurted out in apparent amazement. "You learned it here."

"He's not only brilliant at Potions," Hermione threw in, smiling as she turned to the professors. "During these holidays, Harry took his OWL in Potions." Ignoring the gasp from the teachers, she continued, "He passed the exam with top results and is the youngest student who has ever taken his Potions OWL."

"There's one thing I need help with though," Harry spoke up, glancing at Professor Flitwick. "For my name, it says 'Harry Potter son of Buckbean.' Could you perhaps charm the name to only be visible to people who know about my relation to the goblins? So that for normal wizards it would just say 'Harry Potter'?"

"Of course my boy and congratulations to your brilliant exam," Flitwick replied, seemingly excited.

Soon everyone was sitting on the beach with a plate full of delicacies in front of them talking animatedly. Harry enjoyed himself greatly. He had not even remembered his birthday let alone thought about having a birthday party together with his friends. He and his guests spent the whole afternoon on the beach, before Hermione and the twins accompanied the Hogwarts students back to the portal. While Harry's parents and his goblin friends cleaned up the beach, the Hogwarts professors helped Harry carry his presents home, where Flitwick charmed the name on Harry's OWL certificate in a way that would allow him to show it to humans like the headmaster of Hogwarts.

Harry wondered for a moment if he should tell the professors about Amaterasu; however, he dismissed the thought, seeing no reason for the teachers to know about her if they still did not know about her existence after living in the castle for such a long time.

HP

The remaining weeks of the holidays passed too fast for Harry's liking. He had decided to not tell his parents, siblings and Hermione about the NEWT in order to not have to disappoint them in case he did not manage to pass them this time. To his relief, no one was astonished when he spent hours reading the ninth and tenth years' Potions books. He also made it a habit to translate a few recipes from Slytherin's books every morning. During the afternoons, he went to play on the beach and practise the Animagus transformation together with Hermione and the twins. Only from time to time, he visited Brightbird and assisted with the brewing for the infirmary.

In the morning of his NEWT exam, he merely told everyone that Brightbird had asked him to assist for a few hours, efficiently trying to hide how excited he was.

The theoretical test took place during the morning, and Harry was glad that he had intensely studied the two books, which he had received from Brightbird for his birthday. To his relief, he managed to flawlessly answer all questions. Feeling very much reassured by the examiner's appreciative words, he headed to the Teapot for lunch, where he met with his siblings and Hermione.

"You have to go back there again?" Hermione asked, incredulously. "Brightbird should know that you're not allowed to work so much."

Harry rolled his eyes. "It's all right Mione. If he needs me, I can assist. That's not a problem, and it's only today," he replied in a soothing voice, feeling very uncomfortable to lie to his best friend. _'They're just too overprotective,'_ he thought, as he returned to the school for his practical exam.

In the afternoon, Harry had to brew the potion for the dragon pertussis, which was a very difficult potion that he had never brewed before. He somehow managed to brew it, _'hopefully flawlessly,'_ he thought, although he was not certain if the colour was correct. _'It's yellow, but I think it might be a bit too bright,'_ he worried, when he placed the phial onto the examiner's desk.

"Light yellow is correct," Brightbird reassured him, when the exam was over.

Harry thanked the teacher and hurried home, knowing that everyone was probably worried because he was so late.

"What exactly did you have to brew?" Jane enquired, when the family headed to the Teapot for dinner.

"Ah some potion, which took ages to brew," Harry replied, letting out a huge yawn.

"That's it," Gwenlin told him in a stern voice. "After dinner you're going straight to bed. You need some rest now. The full moon is less than a week away."

HP

During the following week, everyone was watching Harry like hawks, preventing him from studying or doing anything else that they assumed strenuous for the boy. Harry did not mind. However, he insisted on practising the Animagus transformation and, other than that, he impatiently waited for the letter from the Ministry of Magic.

It finally arrived on the day of the full moon.

"Harry, here's a letter from the Ministry of Magic," Gwenlin told him in apparent surprise, handing Harry the envelope.

"Can you open it please?" Harry whispered, feeling too unwell to move enough to open his letter.

Gwenlin complied, only to let out a huge gasp. "You took your NEWT?" she asked, incredulously.

"Yes," Harry confirmed, weakly. "Did I pass?"

"With an 'O'," Gwenlin confirmed, placing the letter on his night table. "Congratulations child," she said, smiling. "I'm very proud of you, Harry."

Harry smiled, before he drifted off to sleep, still with a smile playing on his lips.

HP

At the end of the summer holidays, Harry was able to transfigure both arms and both legs into the respective parts of his phoenix form. Hermione could easily transfigure both arms into white feathers.

"How annoying," Harry growled in frustration. "I had hoped so much we'd both be able to completely transform by the end of the holidays."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes me too," she admitted, "but I think that we have to be grateful for being able to transform at all, and we can still practise at Hogwarts."

"Yes that's true," Harry agreed, feeling slightly consoled by the thought.

"Are you looking forward to returning to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked in apparent excitement.

"On the one hand yes, but on the other no," Harry admitted, truthfully. In fact, it was rather no than yes. "I'm going to miss the twins and my parents and Brightbird," he explained. "I know I can be glad that I'm able to see them on Sundays, but still. I love life on Goblin Island, and Hogwarts..." He slowly trailed off, noticing that he sounded rather whiny.

"I understand," Hermione said in a calming voice. "Hogwarts wasn't as great for you as it was for me, not only because you can't stay in Ravenclaw, but especially because of all these detentions with Snape."

"Exactly," Harry confirmed. "I wonder if I should show Dumbledore the certificates and ask him to be exempt from Potions. On the other hand it's my favourite subject."

"I'd wait and see how Snape behaves this time," Hermione suggested, before she changed the topic. "I can't wait to see the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor," she said, eagerly. "If he's written so many books, he must have a lot of experience."

Harry let out a snort. "Nonsense if you ask me," he voiced. "Have you looked into his book? It's absolutely ridiculous. I bet he invented everything that's written there."

"Do you really think so?" Hermione asked, incredulously.

"Yes," Harry replied matter-of-factly, when a thought crossed his mind. "I still have to ask Flitwick to charm my NEWT certificate," he said. "I almost forgot."

"That's not good," Hermione replied, alert. "Let's go and see if he's still at the school."

An hour later, they were back, and Harry added the charmed certificate to the items, which he had to take with him to Hogwarts.

HP

Hermione should soon realise just how right Harry had been. In the second-years' first Defence Against the Dark Arts class, the professor showed that he was not even able to rid the classroom of pixies and just left the room, leaving the task to Hermione, Mandy, Harry and Terry.

"What a fraud," Harry mumbled, when they finally left the classroom, only to arrive ten minutes late for Transfiguration.

Fortunately, McGonagall believed the four students, knowing that all four were very responsible and wouldn't come to class late if not for a valid reason.

"I know that he's a fraud, but the problem is that no one else is available," McGonagall admitted to Hermione and Harry later on. "The only person that I'd deem able to teach is a werewolf. However, as long as Professor Snape isn't willing to brew the Wolfsbane potion every month..."

"Excuse me Professor, but what is the Wolfsbane potion? I could brew it for the professor," Harry offered immediately.

McGonagall gave the boy a thoughtful look. "Apparently it's one of the most difficult potions to brew and it is said to take the whole night, but if something else happens in Professor Lockhardt's class, I'll speak with my colleagues about the matter," she promised, before she ushered the students towards the Great Hall for lunch.

HP

It was only three weeks later, on the day of the full moon, that the topic came up again. Not feeling up to enduring one hour of History of Magic and a double Defence Against the Dark Arts class with Lockhardt, Harry went to see Madam Pomfrey right before lunch and asked her to exempt him from his afternoon classes.

Knowing that it was the first time in more than a year that Harry asked for such a thing, Pomfrey immediately floo-called McGonagall and asked her to inform her colleagues at lunch.

"Are you feeling exceptionally bad today, or did anything happen?" she then asked in a soft voice, causing Harry to let out a long sigh.

"Well, History of Magic is just something that I don't need today, but Defence..." He slowly trailed off, wondering how to explain the matter to the healer.

"What happened?" Pomfrey enquired.

"A few days ago, he made us write a test," Harry explained, sighing. "However, the questions were all about himself, not about something that we're supposed to learn in his class. "What is Gilderoy Lockhardt's favourite food, what is his favourite book etc. He's totally self-centred and absolutely unable to teach. I think that he's a complete fraud," he blurted out.

"Oh dear," Pomfrey replied and admitted that she and her friends, of whom Harry knew that they were McGonagall and Hooch, had wondered about the new Defence professor multiple times.

"Harry, do you have your test back already?" she enquired.

Harry nodded. "Yes, it's in my room."

The healer followed Harry into his room and accepted Harry's test, before she made the boy lie down, knowing that he was feeling miserable so close to the full moon.

"Professor McGonagall once told Hermione and me that there was no one else available apart from a werewolf," Harry said, cautiously, as he complied. "Could I perhaps brew the Wolfsbane potion for him, so that he'd be able to teach at Hogwarts?"

Pomfrey stared at the boy. "Yes Harry that's it," she then said, seeming uncharacteristically excited. "You'd be able to do that for him, especially since the potion always has to be brewed a few days before the full moon. Harry, would you mind if Professors Dumbledore and Snape knew that you've already taken your Potions NEWT? Otherwise they probably wouldn't deem you qualified enough and you wouldn't be allowed to brew a potion as dangerous as the Wolfsbane for someone."

"As long as they don't know where I took the OWL and NEWT, I don't mind," Harry replied in a soft voice.

"They won't," Pomfrey promised and fetched two potions for the child, before she called the headmaster in determination.

_tbc..._

_Thanks a lot to the kind readers who always feed me muse. You have no idea what they mean to me!_


	20. Chapter 20

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

Dumbledore patiently listened to what Poppy had to tell him, before he looked from the Defence Against the Dark Arts test to the certificates in utmost confusion.

"How could he manage to take these exams?" he finally asked, incredulously.

Poppy let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry Albus, I know and so do Minerva and Filius; but it's not my secret to share and I promised to keep the secret," she replied in a firm voice. "It proves, however, what I knew even without having this information that Harry would be absolutely capable of brewing the Wolfsbane potion for Remus."

"That's true," Dumbledore agreed, pensively. "However, you know as well as I do that it would be very unsettling for Severus if we let a mere second-year student brew the Wolfsbane, although he's the Potions Master, and an excellent one as I might add." He remained thoughtful for an instant, before he suggested, "Maybe Severus and Harry could brew the potion together."

"Albus," Poppy replied with a combination of annoyance and anger. "It's not that we want Harry to steal a part of Severus' work. It's rather that so far Severus has always refused to brew the Wolfsbane when Minerva or I suggested Remus as the Defence professor. Minerva apparently told Harry about it, and he offered to brew the potion in order to have a better Defence professor than Lockhardt, who seems to be an absolute fraud. Personally, I believe that it's not only a very generous offer from Harry, but also a wonderful idea, and I'm sure that at least Minerva, Pomona and Filius will share my opinion."

"Let's speak about the matter with our colleagues tonight," Dumbledore finally decided and rose from his seat. Casting a look at the certificates, he thought aloud, "I wonder why Harry is still attending Severus' classes at all. He could be easily exempt from Potions."

Poppy let out a snort. "That's because he absolutely loves brewing potions and always hopes to learn something new. Plus he doesn't want to have another fight with Severus and I suppose that he didn't want anyone to know about these exams. He's not the attention seeker that Severus always claims him to be," she explained in a soft voice.

"Maybe I should once speak with Harry," Dumbledore said, thoughtfully.

HP

While Harry was suffering from the Blue Moon disease, feeling slightly comforted by his mother's presence, Iro visited Amaterasu, and the teachers spoke about the Defence teacher, the Wolfsbane potion and a certain second-year student who had taken his Potions OWL and NEWT as the youngest student of all times.

"Yes, let Potter brew the Wolfsbane," Snape spoke up, after listening to the headmaster's ramblings, wearing a blank face. "If something happens to Lupin, I can only say 'Good riddance'."

"Severus, behave yourself," McGonagall admonished him sharply.

HP

In the morning, when Harry had a huge discussion with Madam Pomfrey about the necessity of attending classes right after the full moon, Iro waited patiently for Harry to have time for an urgent discussion, Professor McGonagall wrote a letter to Remus Lupin inviting him to Hogwarts for Saturday afternoon, and Severus Snape skipped breakfast in order to pay Petunia Dursley a vist.

HP

Severus strode towards the Dursleys' residence, sneering at the utterly boring neighbourhood. _'Typically Petunia,'_ he thought, as he approached the door and rang the door bell.

It took a little while, before Petunia opened the door, letting out a shriek upon recognising him. "You!"

"Hello Petunia," Severus replied, smirking.

"What do you want?" Petunia hissed. "Do you already want to get rid of the little freak? Do what you want with him, but we're not going to take him back."

_'Very interesting,'_ Severus thought in surprise. "No that's not the point," he reassured the sister of his former best friend. "I just want to ask where the boy learned to brew potions," he said, quirking an eyebrow at the Muggle.

"He went to school with Dudley, and he often visits friends," she explained. "Other than that I've no idea. I'm just glad when the freak's out of the way."

With that she quickly shut the door into the young wizard's face.

_'That went well, and I'm none the wiser,'_ Severus realised as he apparated back to Hogwarts.

HP

Feeling very upset, because Madam Pomfrey had forbidden him to attend classes, Harry spent the day feverishly skimming Slytherin's books for the Wolfsbane potion. He was just about to give up his search late in the afternoon, when he spotted a potion called 'Wolvescure.' He eagerly reaad through the text, wondering if that was the Founders' time's equivalent to the Wolfsbane potion. _'It seems more like a cure than what Pomfrey told me about helping the werewolf to keep his mind,_' he thought in confusion. He toyed with the thought of apparating to Brightbird, however, not wanting to anger the healer, who was so kind and always supported him, he dismissed the thought.

_'I'll speak with Pomfrey later on,'_ he decided, just when Iro slithered into the room.

"Harry, I need to sspeak with you," the serpent addressed him, sounding very stern.

"Of courssse, what'sss wrong?" Harry replied, giving his familiar a surprised look.

"Amaterasu told me that a girl and a boy came to visit her," Iro informed him. "The boy was the same who made her kill a girl many yearsss ago. She refused to listen to him and told him that you were her new owner, but the boy threatened that he'd come back. Fortunately, thisss time you cast the charm at the castle, sso that even if he forcesss her out into the casstle, she won't harm anyone. But still she is in a lot of distresss because of the matter."

Harry listened to Iro's explanation in shock. "Have you sseen the girl and the boy?" he finally enquiered. "Do you know who they are?"

"No," Iro replied in a grave voice. "If you don't mind, I'll spend ssome time with Amaterasu in order to get to see them."

"Of course I don't mind," Harry reassured the serpent in confusion.

"If you need me, you can jusst mind think to me," Iro reminded him, before she slithered away quickly.

_'If the boy was a boy already many years ago, he can't be still a boy now_,' Harry thought, wondering if he should inform an adult about the matter or just speak with Hermione.

He finally decided for the latter option and resumed translating the recipe for the wolvescure, wondering if Hermione would come to see him after the last afternoon class.

HP

"That's very strange," Hermione agreed. "Maybe we need to involve the adults, but let's wait if Iro will be able to find out something first."

The two students spent the whole evening in Harry's room working on their assignments, before Pomfrey came and shooed Hermione out shortly before the beginning of curfew.

When the girl had left and Pomfrey waved her wand over him, clucking in apparent displeasure, Harry hesitantly told her about the wolvescure potion.

"The wolvescure?" Pomfrey asked in disbelief. "No I don't think that it's identical to the Wolfsbane potion, as the Wolfsbane is not a cure," she said, thoughtfully. "Could it be that the Founders had a cure for lycanthropy? Harry, please translate the recipe as soon as you feel well enough to do so. It would be amazing if you'd manage to cure the werewolves."

"I've already translated it," Harry informed the healer in a soft voice. "I'd like to show it to Brightbird."

"Show it to me first," Pomfrey suggested. "Then we'll see if you're well enough to apparate tomorrow."

HP

Before Harry could fetch the translated recipe from his desk, Iro dashed into the room.

"Harry, come quickly. They're in Amaterasu's chamber," she hissed, urgently.

"I need to go with her to Amaterasu's chamber. I'll tell you afterwards," Harry quickly informed the healer and, ignoring her glare, apparated straight to Amaterasu.

HP

Harry arrived right in front of where Amaterasu was facing a boy, who seemed to be just a little older than himself. However, Harry was sure that he had never seen him before. A red haired girl was lying on the floor, unmoving. Casting a wandless protection charm around himself and Amaterasu, he addressed the boy. "What are you doing here, and what do you want from Amaterasu?"

"I'm her legal owner," the boy sneered, "and I want her to go and kill the mudbloods."

'Harry, there'sss a black book on the floor. The boy came out of it. You need to dessstroy it,' Iro, who had just arrived next to him, informed him telepathically.

_'How?'_ Harry wondered, before a thought crossed his mind.

"Amaterasu, can you destroy the black book there please?" he asked the basilisk, who immediately buried her fangs into the leather cover.

"I'll alwaysss lissten to you. You're as good as my Salazzzar wasss, and you're my rightful owner now," Amaterasu hissed back, before the boy let out a horrible cry and was sucked into the book.

"You better take that book to the headmasster or to Buckbean. It'ss not good," Iro advised him.

"I will," Harry promised. "Let me jussst check on the girl."

"Hello there," he addressed the girl, whom he recognised as the little sister of the Weasley twins, a Gryffindor first-year. "You're Ginny, aren't you?"

"Hello," the girl replied, seemingly shy. "And yes, I'm Ginny. Thank you for rescuing me."

"What happened?" Harry asked in concern, causing the first-year to explain how she had written into the book and a boy with the name of Tom had replied.

"He was very nice and knew a lot. I really liked communicating with him," she admitted. "But then he brought me here, three times already, and he spoke with the huge snake, but I couldn't understand what they said. I only know that the snake apparently refused to do what he wanted and he became very upset."

Noticing that her voice became smaller and tears welled in her eyes, Harry gently laid his arm around her back. "Come with me," he said gently. "I'm going to take you to Professor McGonagall."

"Thank you," Ginny replied and led the way through which Tom had brought her into the chamber.

'Just apparate to the professsor's office,' Iro instructed him, telepathically, and promised to close the door that the girl and the boy might have left open.

"Hold on tightly," Harry informed the girl and with the black book in his right hand, he apparated straight in front of McGonagall's office.

HP

To Harry's relief, they were called in quickly, and, since Ginny was crying too much to be able to explain, he told the professor what had happened in Salazar's chamber and showed her the black book.

McGonagall gave him a horrified look. "This must contain very black magic," she said, alert. "The Tom of the book must be Tom Riddle, and then it was him who opened the Chamber of Secrets." Seeing that Harry gave her a questioning look, she explained, "One girl died at that time, and Hagrid was thought to be the culprit."

"He wouldn't have been able to do anything," Harry informed the professor, "if he doesn't speak Parseltongue."

"So Hagrid is innocent," McGonagall said, sighing. "We'll have to speak about this again at another time." Looking at the black book on her desk, she said, "We should take it to the headmaster and get rid of it as soon as possible."

"Amaterasu already destroyed it, but yes, I was thinking of taking it to Buckbean," Harry replied, quirking an eyebrow in silent question.

The Gryffindor head leaned into the fireplace and called Flitwick. While Ginny still leaned into Harry's embrace, McGonagall informed the half goblin about the occurrences and asked him to take the book to the goblins and request for help in order to destroy the dark artefact.

"I'm sure the goblins will be able to help Minerva," Flitwick replied and stepped into the fireplace to travel straight to Gringotts.

HP

While McGonagall now turned to her first-year, who was clearly under shock, Harry swiftly returned to his own room, where he asked Helga to inform Madam Pomfrey that he was back. _'We were in the middle of our conversation concerning the wolvescure,_' he remembered, inwardly groaning. _'Everything would be much easier if Snape wasn't as stubborn and mean as he is_,' he thought, just when Pomfrey stepped into the room. He took a few steps towards his desk and handed the healer the parchment with his translation of the recipe.

Pomfrey engrossed herself in her reading, before she spoke up, thoughtfully. "It must be a cure. Here, it says, 'The wolvescure cures a werewolf from lycanthropy. The potion only has to be taken once, between three days and twenty-four hours before the full moon. It must be brewed freshly.' Congratulations Harry for finding such a recipe. I'm sure you're going to receive the Order of Merlin if you manage to cure the werewolves."

Harry gave the healer a sceptical look. "Do you believe it'll work Madam?"

Pomfrey smiled. "Salazar Slytherin is a well known Potions Master. He's said to be the best Potions Master of all times, and if he lists the recipe as one of his potions, it'll surely work," she replied, seemingly excited. "I'd really appreciate it if you could cure Remus Lupin. He was a student here and one of your birth parents' best friends."

HP

Knowing that the teachers had invited Remus Lupin to Hogwarts for Saturday afternoon, Harry apparated to Goblin Island right after his Potions tutoring with Neville in the morning of the same day. Without visiting his parents and siblings, whom he was going to meet on the following Sunday anyway, Harry made his way to the Potions classroom.

"Hello Harry, aren't you a day early?" Brightbird greeted him with a small smile playing on his lips that always appeared when the boy came to visit him.

"Yes, but I've some interesting news," Harry explained, returning the smile as he handed the teacher his parchment with the translation of the wolvescure.

"A cure for lycanthropy," Brightbird spoke up in disbelief. "Harry, this is the best thing that could have happened. You'll be able to cure all the werewolves. Plus, we might be able to develop a cure for the Blue Moon disease on the basis of this cure. Congratulations Harry."

Harry let out a sigh at the teacher's overexcitement. "I don't even know if it'll work and if I'll be able to brew it properly..."

"You will," Brightbird interrupted him right away. "You have two possibilities," he continued, eagerly. "You can either publish the recipe under Slytherin's name with your name as the translator, or you can brew the potion by yourself and sell the batches to the Ministry of Magic. Never mind which way you choose, I'm sure that you're going to receive the Order of Merlin first class."

"I don't want such a thing," Harry replied. "If so, I'd only want it together with you. If not for your tutoring, I wouldn't be able to brew any second-year potion by now."

"No Harry, that's your thing," Brightbird said in a firm voice.

"I'd rather brew the potion myself though instead of publishing the recipe," Harry mused aloud, before he explained to the teacher about Remus Lupin and that he had offered him to brew the Wolfsbane for him.

Brightbird smirked. "Well shock them all by telling them that you're simply going to cure him," he replied, grinning.

_'Snape's not going to take that well_,' Harry thought, just when Brightbird spoke up again. "In case they insist that a Potions Master must supervise you, you can either brew it in Snape's presence, or you can come here at any time. I'll always be here if you need help. You can also bring the teacher here, and I'll administer the potion if that's required."

Harry profusely thanked his mentor, before he apparated back right into his own room at Hogwarts, knowing that Remus Lupin was going to arrive at Hogwarts any minute now.

_tbc..._

_Thanks you very much for your kind reviews!_


	21. Chapter 21

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

Harry went straight into Madam Pomfrey's office, sighing in relief as he saw the healer alone. "Brightbird believes that the recipe is a cure for lycanthropy and told me I should just brew it and cure Mr. Lupin," he blurted out, causing the healer to smile.

"Harry, I'm very relieved and happy to hear that," she replied, smiling. "I suggest that I take you to the headmaster's office, where my colleagues are having a conversation with Mr. Lupin."

To Harry's great annoyance, the gargoyle opened on "Wolfsbane."

"Dumbledore should re-think the password," he whispered to Pomfrey, who shared his mischievous grin, when they entered the headmaster's office.

#Hello little nestling,# Fawkes greeted him with a happy trill.

"Hi Fawkes," Harry replied, smiling, before he curiously let his eyes wander around the office.

A man with brown hair and a friendly smile was sitting there together with Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall. Harry immediately liked the man.

"Harry, this is Remus Lupin," McGonagall introduced the man. "Remus, this is Harry Potter."

"Yes, I can see that," Lupin replied, and Harry had the impression as if his smile intensified. "Harry, you won't remember me, but I knew you well when you were a baby," he said in a gentle voice. "I was your parents' best friend."

"I'm very glad to meet you Mr. Lupin," Harry said, returning the smile.

"Remus, Albus, Minerva, Severus," Pomfrey spoke up, as soon as the greetings were over. "I don't know how far you are in your conversation..."

"Remus would be willing to become our Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor," Dumbledore threw in, "provided that Harry or Severus supply him with the Wolfsbane potion."

"That's a great relief," Pomfrey replied, ignoring the Potions Master's snort. "However, the situation has changed a little." Seeing everyone but Harry stare at her with a combination of shock and curiosity, she explained, "Harry is in the possession of Salazar Slytherin's complete library, and during the last months, he has occupied himself translating several of Slytherin's potions recipes that are written in Parselscript. Among them are many recipes that have been lost for a long time. Only this week, Harry managed to find a cure for lycanthropy."

"What?" McGonagall blurted out, while Lupin's and Snape's faces turned as white as sheets.

"Yes," Harry confirmed. "I've already contacted my Potions teacher and showed him the recipe, and he told me that it seems to be what it promises. He also said that he was going to do some tests with rats and would inform me of the result tomorrow."

"Harry, would it not be better to involve Professor Snape in this?" Dumbledore asked gently.

"I don't have a problem working together with Professor Snape," Harry replied, sighing. "However, since he hates me with a passion, we probably won't be able to efficiently work together."

"Fully understandable," Pomfrey threw in, glaring at the Potions Master.

"That might be, but Professor Snape is a Potions Master, who is officially entitled to administer potions," Dumbledore said, pensively.

"If that's necessary, my teacher has already offered to supervise my brewing," Harry informed the old wizard, who let out a sigh of defeat.

"If Harry is sure that he knows what he's doing, I'd be more than ready to take the potion, even if he's not a Potions Master yet," Lupin spoke up, giving Harry a reassuring nod.

"Thank you sir," Harry replied, smiling.

"This is ridiculous," Snape blurted out, sneering. "At first Potter offered to brew the Wolfsbane, but now, apparently realising that it's difficult to brew, he comes up with a long lost recipe of a cure for lycanthropy? Very unlikely Potter. Many Potions Masters have tried to find a cure during the last centuries..."

"Severus, behave yourself," McGonagall suddenly admonished her youngest colleague. "Harry knows what he's talking about, and I know his teacher personally. He would not joke about such a thing."

"Harry my boy," the headmaster spoke up, pensively. "Already last year I have suggested to Professor Snape to make you his student assistant. At that time he told me that he doesn't need anyone; however, I believe that by now he has become aware of how good you are at brewing, and I still believe that it would be a good idea for the two of you to work together."

"I'm sorry sir," Harry replied, inwardly groaning in annoyance. "As long as Professor Snape doesn't change his behaviour towards me, I won't be able to work together with him, especially as he doesn't seem to trust me at all." He remained thoughtful for an instant, while Dumbledore and Snape conferred in small voices, before he continued, "I believe that I won't have time to be a student assistant anyway. During the next few months, I'll probably have to brew many batches of the wolvescure, and I also want to skim Slytherin's other books for further interesting recipes, plus I need to continue the research for a cure for my own disease."

"Yes, that's true," Pomfrey came to his help.

"Harry," Professor McGonagall spoke up, giving him a rare smile. "Don't you think it would be time to tell my colleagues the truth?"

Harry stared at the Gryffindor head in shock. "I don't mind telling Mr. Lupin Professor, but..." He slowly trailed off.

"How can we trust you boy?" Snape suddenly hissed. "Knowing that you're hiding something from us as big as how you managed to take your Potions NEWT after your first Hogwarts year?"

"Would it be possible to call Professor Flitwick here sir?" Harry unsurely addressed the headmaster.

"Of course my boy," Dumbledore said gently and fire-called the Charms professor, who stepped through the fireplace after a minute.

Feeling very much reassured by his guardian's presence, Harry hesitantly told the adults how the goblins had adopted him at the age of seven. "Since I was seven, Brightbird taught me Potions, and I always assisted him. Since I was about eight, I usually brewed the potions for the infirmary on Goblin Island," he informed the completely stunned Potions Master.

"That explains everything," Snape was the first to speak up. "Mr. Potter, I apologize for underestimating you."

Harry slightly inclined his head.

"Since the age of seven you haven't been living with the Dursleys anymore?" Dumbledore queried, seemingly horrified.

"Albus, they completely neglected and abused him. Thank Merlin he got away from them when he did," McGonagall threw in, and Pomfrey and Flitwick nodded their agreement.

However, the headmaster could not easily be convinced and explained about blood wards and that it was essential for Harry to return to his aunt's house at least during the summer holidays.

"No sir," Harry replied simply. "If anyone forces me to go there, I'll just apparate away, and you won't see me ever again."

"Harry," Dumbledore spoke again, sighing. "You might not know this, but I'm your guardian in the magical world..."

"No sir," Harry quickly interrupted the headmaster. "You aren't. Professor Flitwick is my guardian. When my parents adopted me, they changed everything in my favour."

"What I don't understand," Snape threw in, while the headmaster quietened in apparent defeat, "is why you're attending the second-year Potions class instead of using the time for your research?" He quirked an eyebrow.

Harry let out a long sigh. "Because I didn't want everyone to know that I've already taken my OWL and NEWT, and because I think that there are still many things that I can learn from you sir," he replied in a soft voice.

The Slytherin remained pensive for an instant before he offered, "If you consider the matter and are interested in accepting the post of the student assistant that Professor Dumbledore suggested for you, I'll be willing to help finding a cure for your illness."

Harry glanced at Madam Pomfrey, who gave him an unobtrusive nod. "Now that you all know the truth anyway, I can tell you that my illness is nothing else than the Blue Moon disease, a goblin illness," Harry admitted, feeling very much reassured by the comforting looks that he received from Pomfrey, McGonagall and Flitwick.

"Did you know that Poppy?" Dumbledore queried in a stern voice.

"Yes," Pomfrey admitted and explained why she had decided to have Harry live in his own room instead of a dormitory.

"That makes sense," Snape was the first to agree with the healer.

"Excuse me sir," Harry spoke up in a soft voice, "what exactly does a student assistant have to do?"

"As my student assistant, you'd help me with my work like, for example, the brewing of potions for the hospital wing, the grading of homework, or maybe teaching lower level classes from time to time. However, your own school work has the highest priority, and you'd only be able to assist after completing your own work," Snape explained, patiently.

"In return," Dumbledore added, "you'd either receive money or privileges, which probably would make more sense in your case. Privileges could be a later bed time..."

"No!" Pomfrey threw in, glaring at the headmaster.

"Or Hogsmeade visits among other things," Dumbledore continued.

"I don't really need anything," Harry replied, thoughtfully. "I'd like to assist because I'm very interested in Potions. I just don't know how much time I'll have, plus I won't be able to assist on the day of the full moon."

"Harry," Madam Pomfrey threw in, smiling. "I can imagine one privilege that would be useful for you." Seeing everyone look at her with a combination of surprise and curiosity, she smirked. "How about apparating to Brightbird sometimes during the weekends in order to work on your cure together?"

"Oh yes, I'd like that," Harry agreed, immediately. _'Especially when I become a student assistant, I can't have Snape wonder where I am every Sunday afternoon,'_ he thought.

After a short discussion about the goblins' apparition abilities, during which neither Harry nor Flitwick revealed that the goblins were able to apparate within Hogwarts, Harry and the Potions Master agreed that Harry should come to the classroom on Sunday morning in order to talk about the details of Harry's position as student assistant. The adults further decided that Harry, either with or without Snape's help, should brew the wolvescure potion for Remus Lupin during the weekend before the next full moon.

HP

During the following weeks, Harry spent the second-years' Potions classes doing as much of his homework as he could, so that he had time in the evenings to assist the Potions Master. Snape behaved extraordinarily well, and Harry and the professor got along without any problems. Sometimes, Harry also sat in his classmates' class and corrected homework for the professor in order to have time to do his own assignments in the evenings together with his friends.

Whenever he had time, Harry busied himself trying to find a cure for the Blue Moon disease, and Snape took great interest in his research and often gave Harry useful advice. Therefore, Harry decided to do his research in the Potions classroom, where the professor busied himself with other potions.

Too soon for Harry's liking, the full moon approached again. Not only because of his own problem, but also because he wanted to be completely certain that Remus Lupin was cured, which he would only know in the morning after the full moon.

As soon as he heard Pomfrey's voice in the morning, he lazily asked, "Lupin, is he all right?"

"Yes Harry, you managed to cure him from lycanthropy," Pomfrey replied, sounding very happy. "Congratulations sweetie."

_'It's not only good for Lupin, but also for all of us,'_ Harry thought, knowing that Lupin had only agreed to take over the position of the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor if he was cured. To his chagrin, he was not allowed to apparate home, let alone attend Quidditch practice on this day; however, Gwenlin managed to calm Harry by promising to send the twins to Brightbird to tell him the good news.

"May I at least go and assist Professor Snape?" Harry asked in a slightly grumpy voice that made his mother reprimand him sharply.

"Harry, please behave yourself. You know that Madam Pomfrey only wants to keep you safe and healthy," Gwenlin said in a stern voice.

"Sorry Madam Pomfrey," Harry said, obediently. Not wanting to further anger the healer, he just remained in his room and translated potions recipes, until Hermione came to keep him company and study together.

HP

From the first of October onwards, Remus Lupin became the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, and all students were happy, not only to get rid of Lockhardt the fraud, but also because they realised soon that Professor Lupin was a very talented teacher.

It was almost Halloween, when one day, the headmaster called Harry into his office just in the morning after the full moon. To his relief, it was a Saturday, so that he didn't have to worry about being late for his first morning class, and Flitwick accompanied him. _'Thank Merlin,'_ Harry thought, not feeling up to spending an hour guessing various sweets in order to make the gargoyle open.

"Harry my boy," Dumbledore greeted him, offering him a lemon drop, which Harry declined as usually. "This is Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic," the headmaster informed him, before he introduced him to the Minister.

"Mr. Potter," Fudge addressed the boy. "Word has reached the Ministry that you're able to brew a cure for lycanthropy. Is that true?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied shortly, inwardly groaning.

"Will you be able to work together with the Ministry of Magic as well as St. Mungo's and cure the werewolves?" the Minister enquired. "If you promise to brew as many batches as you can, the Ministry will pay you one thousand Galleons for each phial, and in addition, I shall award you the Order of Merlin first class.

Harry remained thoughtful for a moment, before he replied, thoughtfully. "I'll accept sir, however, under one condition."

"And what might that be?" Fudge queried, looking at the boy in apparent surprise.

_'I don't like him,'_ Harry thought. _'But nevertheless I have to help the werewolves.'_ "My condition is that the Ministry offers the same reward for the two Potions Masters, who are my mentors and who are going to help me with the brewing, as I'd probably not be able to brew so many batches on my own."

"Very well," Fudge said, sounding impatient. "Who are these Potions Masters?" he then enquired.

"Brightbird from the goblin school on Goblin Island and Professor Snape from Hogwarts," Harry informed the Minister, who stared at him in disbelief, while the headmaster's eyes began to twinkle merrily.

"Mr. Potter," the Minister replied and sighed, casting Dumbledore a help searching look. "I can't very well award a goblin and a former Death Eater the Order of Merlin."

"Oh that's a pity then," Harry said, matter-of-factly. "In that case, we won't be able to help the Ministry."

_tbc..._

_Thanks you very much for your kind reviews!_


	22. Chapter 22

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

"Dumbledore, how are you educating your golden boy?" the Minister growled at Dumbledore, who was sitting behind his desk, following the conversation with a contented expression.

"But Cornelius, I believe that Harry is fully right," Dumbledore said, pleasantly. "Brightbird and Professor Snape are both mentoring Harry, and they will efficiently help him to provide an adequate number of batches to cure the werewolves as soon as possible.

Fudge let out a huge sigh. "Very well then, you get what you want. I'll contact Healer O'Brien, the Head Healer of St. Mungo's, and tell him to contact Mr. Potter."

"All right sir, thank you sir," Harry replied, politely, sighing in relief when the Minister stepped into the fireplace.

"Well done Harry," Flitwick spoke up, excitedly. "That was very generous of you."

"I'm glad it worked out," Harry replied, shrugging, before he turned to Dumbledore. "Professor, there's something else that needs to be done." Seeing the headmaster look at him in surprise, he enquired, "Did Professor McGonagall speak with you about the so-called Chamber of Secrets, where Salazar Slytherin's basilisk is residing?"

"Oh yes my boy," Dumbledore replied immediately. "I'm sorry Harry that I didn't even get around to thank you for rescuing Ms. Weasley and bringing the matter to our attention."

"That doesn't matter sir," Harry said, impatiently. "But Professor McGonagall told me that fifty years ago, Hagrid was accused of having opened the chamber. And that's not possible. The chamber can only be opened in Parseltongue."

Dumbledore thoughtfully stroke his beard. "Would you be able to prove this?"

"Of course sir," Harry said, matter-of-factly. "I can show them how to open the chamber. I won't take them inside though, only if they swear a wizard's oath that they won't harm Amaterasu."

"But Harry," the headmaster replied, pensively, "isn't it dangerous to have a basilisk live in a school?"

"No sir," Harry reassured the old wizard in a firm voice and explained about the charm that he had to cast once a year.

"Very well Harry, I'll speak with the Minister about a possible trial for Hagrid," Dumbledore promised. "I'll better let him cool down for a few days though."

_'That's for sure,'_ Harry thought and exchanged a few words with Fawkes, before he excused himself.

HP

Since it was the morning after the full moon, Harry had already told Neville that he would have to skip the Potions tutoring, which they continued to have on Saturday mornings. Even if Neville's brewing abilities had expanded greatly due to the tutoring, he still needed Harry's help. Instead, Harry decided to go and ask Professor Snape if he could use some assistance.

On his way to the Potions Master's office, Harry bumped into Draco Malfoy, who chose the instant to come out of the washroom, when Harry slowly walked through the dungeon corridor. "Oh sorry," Harry quickly said, looking at the other boy.

He had never really spoken to Draco after their first encounter on the Hogwarts Express; he had only heard that Draco got himself into fights with the Gryffindors every now and then and that he was very arrogant. Now, however, Draco looked in no way superior. His face was pale and covered in tears. He was crying.

"Draco, what happened?" he queried in surprise, quirking an eyebrow.

Draco let out a snort. "What does it mean to you?" he asked, sighing. "You, Dumbledore's golden boy, who gets everything that he wants..." He trailed off and after a hasty look at Harry made a quick step around the next corner.

However, Harry grabbed the boy's arm. "No Draco, you can't just run away after saying this. Please explain what you think you know about me and also what's wrong with you." Seeing that Draco looked up, seemingly hesitating, he added, jokingly, "Remember I'm not a Gryffindor but a Ravenclaw, and we have friends in all Houses. I'm not your enemy."

"Do you really believe that?" Draco queried, giving Harry a sharp look.

"Yes of course," Harry replied, simply. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Draco replied, trying to set up a convincing expression.

However, this did not go well with Harry. Harry snorted. "Yes of course, you're walking through the corridor crying so much that you run into people, but nothing's wrong. Well, you have the choice. You can either tell me now or I'll drag you to your head of house. I'm going there anyway."

Draco sighed, but apparently understanding that Harry meant what he said and lured by the boy's firm but friendly voice, he blurted out, "They arrested my father."

"Your father?" Harry queried, shocked at the revelation. He had never met Mr. Malfoy, however, he knew that the Malfoys were one of the proud, old wizarding families. "Why?" he asked in confusion.

Draco sighed again, unobtrusively wiping an errand tear from his cheek. "My father is one of the supporters of the Dark Lord. Anyway, he tried to smuggle a diary into Hogwarts, which was a Horcrux..." Seeing Harry's questioning look, he admitted, "I'm not really sure what it is either, but anyway, he thought he could revive the Dark Lord with it. But apparently, it fell into the hands of the goblins at Gringotts, and they informed the Ministry of Magic and had my father's cellar searched for other dark artefacts. They took many of his belongings with them, and yesterday, they came to arrest him."

"Oh I'm sorry," Harry said, compassionately.

"Thanks," Draco replied, and a small smile appeared on his lips. "On the one hand, he deserves it, because he's evil. But on the other hand, he's my father. You know who the Dark Lord is, don't you?"

"Voldemort?" Harry guessed, thinking that the diary of which Draco had told him had to be the black book that he had found in Amaterasu's room.

"The one who killed your parents," Draco confirmed. "Do you hate me now?"

Harry stared at the other boy in surprise. "No Draco, why would I?" he asked in a soft voice. "You're not your father."

"No I'm not," Draco confirmed. "However, my father takes it for granted that I'm going to follow into his footsteps."

"Do you really want that though?" Harry queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure," Draco admitted, thoughtfully. "On the one hand, it's good that he's in prison because he can't force me to do something that I don't want to do, but on the other hand..." He slowly trailed off.

"I understand," Harry replied, quietly. "You don't have to do what your father wants, Draco. You can make your own decisions."

Draco looked up, seemingly happier than before. "I'll do that. Thanks Potter." He held out his right hand. "Friends?"

Harry accepted, smiling. "Friends," he confirmed. "If you ever want to talk, come and see me in my room. Just go to Madam Pomfrey and ask for me," he added as an afterthought.

HP

When Harry entered the Potions Master's office, he wondered if he should tell Snape about the Order of Merlin, however, he dismissed the thought and merely informed the professor that the Minister of Magic had asked for many doses of the wolvescure.

"When exactly does the wolvescure have to be brewed?" Snape queried, raising an eyebrow at the boy.

"It has to be taken between three days and one day before the full moon and must be brewed right before," Harry replied, inwardly groaning.

"I shall help you," Snape promised, causing Harry to let out a relieved sigh upon realising that he didn't have to ask the older wizard.

"Thank you very much sir," he replied, adding, "I hope Brightbird will be able to help as well. I won't be able to brew too many batches so close to the full moon, especially if it's during the week."

The Potions Master gave him a thoughtful look. "I'd like to get to know Brightbird. We should work together in order to more efficiently search for a cure for the Blue Moon disease," he then suggested.

"All right," Harry agreed and hesitantly informed the professor that he used to meet Brightbird every Sunday afternoon and that Snape was very welcome to accompany him. "I don't think that you'll be able to apparate to Goblin Island though," he said, thoughtfully, "but you can take the floo to my parents' house, and we can meet there. Would you like to go tomorrow?"

Snape gave him a sharp look. "You don't seem well to me. Will your condition be improved enough by tomorrow?"

"Yes sir, only the day after the full moon is quite bad, tomorrow will be all right," Harry confirmed, and the two wizards agreed to go and visit Brightbird together on the following day.

"Do you need any potions for the hospital wing?" Harry enquired, giving the professor a questioning look.

"Not today," Snape replied in a firm voice. "Go and rest or gallivant the castle together with your friends. I won't have Madam Pomfrey scold me because of making you brew potions on the day after the full moon."

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Harry agreed and returned to the aboveground part of the castle.

HP

_'Snape has really changed,'_ he thought. _'He's become very nice. I just hope Jane and Kengo will behave when he accompanies me home tomorrow.'_ Deep in thoughts, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. _'Jane and Kengo?'_ he thought in disbelief.

However, it was the Weasley twins that suddenly showed up right in front of him. _'Oh Merlin, I must be hallucinating,'_ he thought, inwardly groaning. _'I just hope we'll find a cure soon.'_

"Oh, just the right person to meet..."

"... on this lazy Saturday," the twins greeted him, making Harry smile at the familiar antics.

"Hi there," he replied, smiling. "What mischief are you up to now?"

"Since fate arranged for us..."

"... to meet the student who's the most brilliant at Potions..."

"... we'd like to brew a prank potion together," the twins challenged him.

"That we can do," Harry agreed, thoughtfully. "Do you already have an idea what to brew though?"

"We'd like to have everyone have some fun..."

"... so possibly play a prank on the whole head table at dinner," the twins explained, looking at him in apparent expectation.

"Well, let's consult the library," Harry said, matter-of-factly, and led the twins into the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor quarters.

_'I wonder if the wall of mist would let Snape or Draco into the quarters,'_ he thought, when he absentmindedly skimming a bookshelf.

"Oh no, I know something better," he suddenly remembered. "I have one book of Salazar Slytherin, which seems to be full of prank potions."

"Ahh, that sounds much better," the twins agreed, simultaneously.

During the following hour, Harry read the titles and the respective explanations for each potion to the twins, before they finally found an adequate prank. Harry quickly translated the recipe, while George wrote down his every word, and soon the three friends busied themselves brewing a complicated potion. _'Snape will immediately know that it was me,'_ Harry thought, inwardly sighing. _'No one else would be able to brew this.'_

When they finished brewing, Harry instructed the twins to search Helena Ravenclaw and hand her the potion or give it to one of the house-elves. Afterwards he returned to his room right away, where he remained during the rest of the day in order to have an alibi in case anyone suspected him of brewing the prank potion. He took a long nap, before Hermione came and made him do his homework together with her until Madam Pomfrey showed up to check on Harry.

Waving her wand over him, the healer muttered to herself in apparent annoyance, causing Harry to ask, innocently, "May I skip dinner tonight please?"

"No Harry," Pomfrey replied sternly. "You already slept through lunch today, and I want you to attend dinner. I don't know what you did this morning instead of letting your condition improve," she continued, giving him a questioning look.

"Nothing really," Harry replied, sighing, "apart from a conversation with the headmaster and the Minister of magic, then one with Draco Malfoy and finally with Professor Snape."

"I'm really glad that you seem to get along well now," Pomfrey commented, smiling.

"Yes, and I hope it'll stay that way," Harry thought aloud. "He's going to accompany me to Goblin Island and meet Brightbird tomorrow."

"Oh, that's great news. Well done Harry," the healer commended him. "Now let's head to dinner. Today, I don't have any other patients, so I can accompany you."

Too excited to feel any hunger, Harry walked to the Great Hall behind Pomfrey and Hermione, who were talking vivaciously. Sitting between his friends at the Ravenclaw table, he forced himself to not look at the teachers' table and absentmindedly listened to his housemates' conversations.

Suddenly, he heard his name being mentioned at the head table, when Professor Dumbledore told his youngest colleague, "Severus, you're going to receive the Order of Merlin first class."

The Potions Master stared at the old wizard, before he turned to the healer, who was sitting on his other side. "Poppy, have you recently examined Albus? It appears that he has consumed too many lemon drops."

"I didn't know that lemon drops make someone delirious," McGonagall threw in, causing Harry to chuckle.

"I know what I'm talking about," Dumbledore said, indignantly, and took a large sip of his pumpkin juice, before he told his colleagues about the conversation between Minister Fudge and Harry Potter that had taken place in his office that very morning.

All of a sudden, the headmaster's voice changed to that of a small child that could be heard throughout the Great Hall, causing the whole student body to break out in laughter at the sight of the professors.

Relieved that everyone laughed at the sight of the head table, Harry did not try to hide his own amusement. All of the teachers' heads, but only the heads, had changed into those of babies, their clothes were transfigured into large jumpsuits with colourful bibs on top of them, the plates and cutlery had changed into baby dishes and spoons, and the glasses had been replaced by feeding bottles.

"Potter!" Snape growled in his high, babyish voice, causing everyone in the Great Hall to laugh - except for Harry, who stared at the head table, feigning surprise.

"No Severus," he heard Madam Pomfrey contradict in her girlish baby voice. "Harry was in no condition today to brew such a thing. Ever since his conversations with Albus and you, he was in bed asleep. He even slept through lunch and would have missed dinner if I hadn't forced him to attend."

"Pity, otherwise, I'd have a valid reason to award points to my house," Flitwick spoke up, pleasantly.

"And Severus would have taken ten times the amount," McGonagall threw in, sternly. "Are you so sure that it was a potion? Maybe someone who's good at Transfiguration played the prank."

Snape let out a snort that sounded very funny to the students. "Be my guest and try to transfigure everything back," he challenged his older colleague, who readily pulled her wand.

After waving her wand over herself and the table in front of her multiple times in vain, the Scottish lioness gave up. "No, it doesn't work," she informed the others.

"Harry, was that you?" Hermione whispered, causing Harry to return an innocent look.

HP

Only when they were back in his own room, while dinner was still on its way, did he admit to his best friend about brewing the potion together with the Weasley twins.

Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Hermione said, "Oh well, that was well done then. When is it going to wear off?"

Harry chuckled. "As soon as they leave the Great Hall. I'm not that mean."

Hermione snorted. "You can be glad that Madam Pomfrey stood up for you though," she said sternly. "I wouldn't want to be you if Professor Snape learned that it was you."

"That's true," Harry agreed, full heartedly, just an instant before the Potions Master's voice penetrated his mind.

'Congratulations Mr. Potter to a very well done potion,' Snape informed him, telepathically. 'But beware, eventually I'm going to get my revenge.'

_tbc..._

_Thanks you very much for the many kind reviews - thus the quick update. I hope you liked it... Have a great weekend :-)_


	23. Chapter 23

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

During the next few days, Harry remained very apprehensive around the Potions Master because of the professor's threat for a revenge, however, nothing happened, and he slowly relaxed.

Snape's visit to Goblin Island went better than Harry had dared to hope. The professor was polite to his family, and even the twins were on their best behaviour. When Harry introduced Snape to Brightbird, the goblin let in no way show how much he had heard about the professor and his treatment of Harry in the past.

The two Potions Masters and Harry made a list of ingredients that they deemed necessary for their cure, taking the most important ingredients from the wolvescure as well as from the potion that Brightbird and Harry used to use as the basis for their research.

"Venom of an Aesculapian Serpent," Snape suddenly read, quirking an eyebrow in silent question.

Harry's familiar is an Aesculapian Serpent," Brightbird informed the professor, before he turned to Harry. "Did you not inform your professor of such an important matter?"

Harry shrugged. "I didn't think that it was important sir. Madam Pomfrey knows about it, and she would have told me when her venom would have been needed." _'Plus Professor Snape once gave me detention upon noticing that I had brought Iro to class,'_ he remembered but did not voice his thoughts.

"Is your familiar willing to give her venom at any time though?" Snape queried.

"Yes sir," Harry replied, smiling. "Once Brightbird needed her venom to heal someone, and even weeks afterwards she was still very happy to have been able to save someone's life. She'll always help if her venom is needed."

The two Potions Masters agreed to meet once a month in order to speak about their tests and possible progresses.

"What's a progress?" Harry enquired, sceptically. "I think that it'll either work or won't." He gave the teachers a questioning look.

"There might be some progress concerning the intensity of the illness," Snape explained, patiently. "Like the Wolfsbane potion allowed a werewolf to keep his mind during the full moon. It was a progress even if not a cure."

"Ah all right," Harry replied, nodding in understanding.

HP

On the way back to Harry's home, Snape said, "Thank you Mr. Potter for introducing me to Brightbird. I believe that our chances might be much better if we work together."

Harry full heartedly agreed, although he had to instruct himself to not get his hopes up too much. He accompanied the professor back home, before he told him, "I'll only return to Hogwarts in two hours' time. I'm going to attend Quidditch practice first."

However, when Harry left the Quidditch pitch an hour later, readying himself to apparate back to Hogwarts, the twins were waiting for him.

"Harry, your professor is still there..."

"... talking to Mum and Dad..."

"... just in case you want to come home for a while..."

"... before going back to school," they informed him, causing Harry's eyes to widen in shock.

"What are they talking about?" he asked in surprise.

"About you..."

"... and your atrocious behaviour at school," the twins replied, before they began to laugh aloud at Harry's shocked expression.

By the time the siblings arrived at home, the Potions Master had already left. Harry gave his parents a questioning look. "Mum, Dad, why did Professor Snape stay so long?" he asked, hesitantly.

Gwenlin gently laid her arm around her youngest son's back. "Don't worry sweetheart, he did not complain about you in any way. He merely thanked us for rescuing you from your relatives and adopting you. He told us that your mother was his best friend and that he therefore knew your aunt well and can't imagine that you'd have been happy with her," she explained gently.

"Apart from that, he told us that you're very adept at Potions like your birth mother was and that you're a great help to him as his student assistant," Buckbean threw in.

"And he said that the headmaster had suggested for him to take a student assistant for years now, however, that he couldn't imagine working together with anyone, before he saw you brew and had the opportunity to work together with you for one night last summer."

Harry smirked. "Yes, that was really fun," he agreed.

Buckbean sighed. "He also told us something that you should think about," he said, slowly. "If you decide that you want to specialize in the area of Potions, he'd be willing to take you as an apprentice. So far, he told us, he has never taken one, but he'd make an exception for you. However, he and we both," he continued in a sterner voice, "believe that it's a bit too early for you to decide what you want to do on a professional basis after finishing Hogwarts."

"I'd like to consider it," Harry spoke up, excitedly. "In fact, I've already been thinking about what I'm going to do. If possible, I want to open an apothecary here on Goblin Island. Inken keeps complaining how difficult it is to obtain potions quickly if not from Brightbird, because she has to get them from Diagon Alley or other places in the magical world, and some of her patients are not even able to buy their necessary potions by themselves."

"Harry, that's a wonderful idea," Gwenlin was the first to reply, looking very happy.

"Goblin Island really needs an apothecary along with some other shops that allow the people here to live more independently from the human magical world," Buckbean agreed. "I suggest that you keep the matter in mind but try to study as much as possible in other areas as well."

"You could also speak with Brightbird, Inken and Professor Snape about it," Jane threw in.

"I will," Harry replied, smiling. "I have to go now. It's already dinner time. I'll see you next Sunday if not earlier."

After a round of hugs from his family, he apparated back to Hogwarts, deep in thoughts. _'The only problem is that I'd need someone to help me in case someone needs something urgently during the night of the full moon,'_ he thought, as he hurriedly changed into his school clothes and apparated to a small alcove next to the Great Hall for dinner.

HP

It was a few weeks later, in the morning of the Ravenclaw's first Quidditch match of the season, that the headmaster called Harry into his office and informed him that Hagrid had been granted a trial, which was going to take place on Monday.

"Please come into my office right after breakfast. You'll be excused from your classes," Dumbledore instructed the boy.

_'I hope he'll be free afterwards, so that he can carry a proper wand,'_ Harry thought, as he hurried towards the Quidditch pitch. He had met Hagrid a few times, and the half giant had always been very friendly to him.

Fortunately, Harry managed to push all thoughts about the trial away and focus on finding the Snitch, and after only eight minutes, he ended the shortest Quidditch match that had ever taken place at Hogwarts.

"The poor Hufflepuffs. They didn't even have a chance," Draco said, smirking, when he crossed Harry's way on the grounds.

"Yes, you better begin to practise now Draco," Harry replied, grinning. "Otherwise Slytherin won't have a chance either."

HP

"Since when are you on good terms with Draco Malfoy?" Neville asked in surprise, when Hermione and Harry met with their friends from different houses in the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor quarters later the same day. "He and Ron are fighting almost every day. About nothing if you ask me."

"He's not so bad," Harry replied, shrugging. "I once met him and we talked for a while."

"Why don't you invite him here once?" Hermione suggested.

"A Malfoy..."

"... Are you sure?" the Weasley twins queried.

"That's no problem," Hermione said in a soothing voice. "If he's not really Harry's friend but an enemy, the wall of mist won't let him in. Therefore, it's fairly safe to invite him here, and last summer we talked about adding some Slytherins to our group anyway, didn't we?"

"That's true, and it can't hurt to invite him once," Susan spoke up, causing everyone to agree.

HP

After a joyful evening with talking, studying and wizard's chess with his friends, Harry returned to his room fifteen minutes before curfew. He hastily scribbled a note for Draco on a small parchment and apparated right in front of the Potions Master's office. To his relief, Snape was in his office and opened the door fairly quickly.

"Professor, I'm sorry to disturb you, but could you please give this to Draco?" he asked with a puppy eyes look, knowing that the professor used to visit the Slytherin common room every evening after curfew.

Seeing that Snape quirked an eyebrow in silent question, he explained that he and his friends wanted to invite Draco, but that it was difficult to speak with the Slytherin in private.

"Very well, I'll hand it to Draco," Snape promised, before he gave Harry a sharp look. "May I rely on you that you're not going to prank him but treat him well?" he then asked. "He gets involved into fights with the Gryffindors every other day, and right now he doesn't need any more trouble."

"We won't fight with him," Harry promised and told the professor about his conversation that he had had with Draco a few weeks ago.

"I'm surprised that he told you about it," Snape said, pensively. "However, I believe that Draco needs all the help and friendship that he can get, especially from others than Death Eater children."

"We'll try," Harry promised. "Good night sir. I need to hurry now."

"Tell Madam Pomfrey that I kept you," Snape replied, smirking. "Good night Harry."

HP

With mixed feelings, Harry stepped into the fireplace after Hagrid and Professor Dumbledore. On the one hand, he was glad that he would hopefully be able to help Hagid, but on the other hand, it was unsettling to know that he would be asked about his ability of speaking and understanding Parseltongue.

However, less than being a Parselmouth, his age seemed to be a problem for the Minister of Magic, who was leading the trial.

"Why would we believe a twelve-year-old boy? He wasn't even alive at the time when it happened," he sneered, causing Harry to wonder if the Minister wanted to get his revenge for the matter with the Order of Merlin, of which Harry still had not heard anything yet.

"Because Mr. Potter witnessed how Tom Riddle emerged from a Horcrux and led a first-year girl into the Chamber of Secrets," Dumbledore replied on Harry's behalf. "At this time, he learned that the Chamber can only be opened by speaking a code in Parseltongue."

"I also spoke with the basilisk, who is residing in the chamber, and she told me that he was the same boy who had come many years ago and had instructed her to kill the muggle born students," Harry explained. "He tried the same this time, but she refused and told him that she would only obey to me from now on."

The Minister and the judge along with a few other people from the Ministry watched Harry's memory of the incident in a Pensieve, before a thirty-minute break was announced.

By the time Harry, Hagrid and the headmaster returned to Hogwarts, Hagrid was a free man and Harry had realised that he greatly disliked the Minister of Magic.

HP

It was a few days later that Madam Pomfrey called Harry into her office and introduced a guest as Healer O'Brien, the Head Healer of St. Mungo's.

"Mr. Potter, we'd like to ask you to brew as many batches of the wolvescure potion as possible for the next full moon," O'Brien spoke up.

Harry inwardly groaned, knowing that the full moon was right in the middle of the test week. "All right sir," he agreed, glancing at Pomfrey.

"I don't think that Harry will be able to brew much this month, as the full moon is during the test week," Pomfrey came to his help.

_'Thank Merlin she understands me without words,'_ Harry thought in relief, before he looked up in shock when she continued to speak and informed the healer about his illness.

"Oh I'm very sorry to hear this," Healer O'Brien replied in a gentle voice. "Don't worry about brewing many batches. Please just let me know how many batches you will be able to brew, so that we can contact an adequate number of werewolves."

"I'll probably be able to brew six batches, two every night," Harry said, thoughtfully. "But I'll ask Professor Snape and Brightbird. They'll probably help with the brewing. I'll inform you as soon as I know more sir."

_'Thank Merlin Hermione already made me study so much that I don't have to study during the test week and can spend the evenings brewing,'_ Harry thought, when he walked together with Snape towards his own lab on the evening of the first test day.

The two Potions Masters had agreed with Harry to brew together in his lab in the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor quarters, profiting from the self refilling ingredients shelves. Snape and Brightbird closely examined the lab with a combination of apparent surprise and amazement.

"This is a wonderful lab," Brightbird said, looking at the ingredients shelves, and Harry was astonished to hear Snape agree unconditionally.

They brewed on three consecutive evenings, however, in the evening before the full moon they only managed to brew one batch each, because the werewolves had to take the freshly brewed potion between three days and twenty-four hours before the full moon. To Harry's relief, they only had to take the phials to Madam Pomfrey, where hospital employees collected them.

HP

During the following weekend, Harry helped the Potions Master with the corrections of the first-year tests, noticing that it was much fun to correct the younger students' tests.

"Maybe you'll also enjoy teaching them," Snape suggested, smirking, and invited Harry to take over the first-year Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff class on Monday morning. "If you like it, you may teach the whole week. Since the tests are over, your professors will certainly excuse you from your own classes for this purpose."

"All right I'll try," Harry said, hesitantly, not noticing the mischievous grin that appeared on the professor's face just for an instant.

_tbc..._

_Thanks you very much for the many kind reviews :-)_


	24. Chapter 24

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

On Monday morning, Harry was very excited at the idea of teaching the first-years. _'I wonder if Snape is at least going to supervise me,'_ he thought, as he trailed all the way to the Potions classroom.

However, the professor merely opened the classroom door and informed the students that his assistant Harry was going to teach their class and that Harry was fully entitled to take points off their houses if they did not behave.

"Good morning," Harry greeted the students, only to realise in shock that he was unable to properly speak. He could only sing!

_'Snape!'_ he thought in annoyance, as he took the students' names to see that everyone was present, before he made the recipe for the class appear at the board and shortly explained what the potion was about and where the students had to pay special attention.

"Professor, do you always sing in your classes?" one of the Hufflepuff first-years asked with apparent interest.

"No," Harry replied, grimly. "Professor Snape pranked me, so there's nothing that I can do about it right now. I'm sorry. You don't have to call me Professor though. I'm Harry. I'm a second-year student."

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Luna, one of the Ravenclaw students spoke up in a gentle voice. "You have a beautiful voice," she added, dreamily.

"Anyway, please begin with your brewing, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask," Harry sang, feeling himself blush at the unexpected praise in combination with his predicament.

Although the students were very obedient and seemed to respect him in spite of the fact that he was only a year older than most of them, Harry was glad when the class was over.

When he dismissed the students, one of them asked, "Harry, can you please teach us again? This was the first time that I didn't blow up my cauldron, because you explained everything to us beforehand. Professor Snape never explains."

Seeing that almost all students nodded their agreement and began to talk at the same time, Harry replied, "I'll see what I can do. First of all, I need to get back at Professor Snape though."

"Oh please do it in the Great Hall, so that we can all watch," Luna told him, smiling happily.

HP

To Harry's relief, his speaking abilities returned after the second morning class, and he spent the rest of the morning thinking of a possible payback for the professor.

At lunchtime, Harry heard how Professor Sprout addressed the Potions Master. "Severus, are you ill, or what's wrong with you?"

"Why Pomona, what happened?" the deputy headmistress queried in apparent concern.

"So far my first-years have always lost at least eighty house points during their Potions class, however, this morning they lost none. Instead, they even gained twenty points," Sprout explained, looking at her Slytherin colleague with curiosity.

"Potter taught the first-years today," Snape replied, grumpily, before he mumbled, "I must instruct him how to keep up a Potions professor's reputation."

His colleagues laughed, before Pomfrey spoke up. "No Severus, there's no need to teach him that, but perhaps he should know that he has to speak in class and not to sing. One of the Hufflepuff first-years came to see me because she was worried about Harry, asking me if I could heal him from some 'prank' that a certain professor seemed to have played him."

Flitwick chuckled. "Don't worry Poppy, if Harry wants to get his revenge at Severus, we're surely in for some interesting spectacle."

HP

Like Flitwick had promised his colleagues, they were in for some fun at breakfast the following morning. As soon as Professor Snape had taken a sip of his coffee, a hat in the form of a bright pink cauldron appeared on his head. Several ingredients seemingly appeared out of nowhere and floated into the cauldron that exploded into small fireworks which finally changed back into the ingredients, and the whole scene began anew.

"Potter!" Snape growled, as soon as McGonagall had conjured a mirror for her colleague to explain why everyone was laughing at him.

However, Harry feigned not having heard the professor and continued to munch his breakfast, inwardly grinning at his success.

HP

Apart from a small prank war that continued between the Potions Master and his student assistant to the amusement of the whole school, the following months passed uneventfully.

However, one day in spring, Harry was once again called to the headmaster's office, causing the boy to groan in annoyance. _'What have I done now?'_ he wondered. _'Hermione or the others never get called to Dumbledore. Why is it always me, and what does he want now?'_

To his surprise but also relief, he realised that Professor Snape was present in the office. During the months since Harry had become the Potions Master's student assistant, the relationship between the two wizards had improved a lot and even developed to a mentor - student connection.

"Severus and Harry, how nice of you to visit me on this fine evening," Dumbledore greeted them, offering them a lemon drop - as usually in vain. "The Minister of Magic contacted me earlier. You're both requested to attend Lucius Malfoy's trial, which is going to take place at the Ministry on Monday morning."

"Malfoy's going to have a trial," Snape spoke up in apparent surprise.

"Yes. To tell the truth, only Harry is requested to attend the trial as a witness; however, I don't want him to go there alone, and I have to be present at the Wizengamot, so that I can't accompany him. I am aware of the fact that Filius Flitwick is his magical guardian, however, I believe that it would be better if you went there together with Harry," Dumbledore informed the Potions Master, giving the younger wizard a pleading look.

"I will, provided that Poppy agrees to teach my classes if she's available," Snape promised. "So this is about the black book that he smuggled into Hogwarts?"

"Yes," the headmaster confirmed in a grave voice. "He's accused of trying to bring Voldemort back to life by endangering Ginny Weasley's life. Ms. Weasley will also attend the trial together with her parents."

"Don't worry Harry," Dumbledore said gently. "You'll only be asked questions about the happenings in the Chamber, nothing else, and Professor Snape will be with you and act as your guardian for the day. Is that all right with you, my boy?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied, nodding his consent. "Thank you for considering my situation."

HP

Since Harry had become good friends with Draco, and the Slytherin was a member of his group of best friends, Harry was very interested to get to know the blond boy's father. However, he disliked Mr. Malfoy from the instant he met him. _'What a slimy, unsympathetic git,'_ he thought, feeling very sorry for Draco to have such a father.

Draco's mother was very kind, however, and thanked Harry for being friends with Draco.

_'No need to thank me for that,'_ Harry thought, bewildered. He felt very much reassured by the Potions professor's presence, although he knew that he would have nothing to fear. The trial passed in a similar way like Hagrid's, even if the room that had been fairly empty at Hagrid's trial was now full with people. The questions that Harry was asked were slightly different from the other time, however, the judge seemed contented with Harry's replies and his memory.

Nevertheless, the trial took the whole day, but in the end, Lucius Malfoy was sentenced to a Dementor's kiss at Azkaban. _'What?'_ Harry thought in surprise, casting Snape a questioning look.

"Later," the professor mouthed and, after their return to Hogwarts, explained what the punishment was. "Harry, I must inform Draco about this," he continued, thoughtfully. "Will you accompany Draco and me to the headmaster's office for this conversation? Maybe Draco will need a friend who is not an adult."

"Of course," Harry replied, smiling. "If he needs me, I'll be there for him."

Snape made Harry wait in front of the Slytherin common room and fetched Draco. Together they headed to the headmaster's office, where Snape informed Draco about his father's fate.

To Harry's surprise, Draco remained completely cool, as if he had expected nothing else. _'I didn't think so though,'_ Harry thought, _'but maybe he just doesn't want to give away his feelings in front of the headmaster.' _He was brought out of his musings when Dumbledore dismissed Draco and asked Snape and Harry to remain for a moment.

"Draco," Harry spoke up in a soft voice. "Will I see you in our living room?" he asked, knowing that Draco would understand that he meant the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor quarters.

"Sure," Draco replied, quietly, before he left the office.

"Severus, Harry," Dumbledore turned to the Potions Master and his student assistant. "The Minister spoke to me today." He made a pause, causing the two younger wizards to wonder what was wrong. "Usually, if someone receives the Order of Merlin first class, a ceremony takes place at the Ministry. However, in this case, the Minister is uncertain how to proceed as a goblin is involved. He doesn't want a ceremony, and he doesn't really want to award the Order at the Ministry at all for the same reason. Therefore, he asked me if it was possible for the goblin to come here to my office, so that he could hand over the award to all three of you here in my office."

Harry chuckled, while Snape mumbled something that sounded very much like "Ridiculous."

"Yes sir," Harry finally replied. "Brightbird comes to Hogwarts every month to brew the wolvescure together with us, so it won't be a problem for him to come here in order to receive the Order of Merlin."

"That's true," Snape agreed. "However, there's no reason for either Brightbird or me to receive any award at all. Harry and he alone was the one who discovered the wolvescure."

Dumbledore smiled. "Well my boy, this is not debatable anymore, since Harry made it a condition for the delivery of the wolvescure potion that all three of you receive the same award," he said gently.

Harry grinned, causing Snape to roll his eyes. "Brightbird will come here to brew the wolvescure on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week. Therefore, either tomorrow or on Wednesday it should be possible for him to accept the award," the Potions Master explained. "For Harry tomorrow would be better."

The headmaster nodded in understanding. "Very well, I'll speak with Fudge in the morning. The Order of Merlin first class is doted with one million Galleons by the way. They'll be added to your accounts automatically."

"Professor, I have a question," Harry spoke up in determination. "Since Hermione and I were able to attend the goblin school without problems, I'm wondering if goblins would be allowed to attend Hogwarts. If this was possible, I'd give the money from the Oder of Merlin for the Hogwarts fees for goblin children to study here."

Dumbledore looked at Harry in apparent surprise. "Ms. Granger also attended school on Goblin Island together with you?" he finally asked.

"Yes sir," Harry confirmed, smiling.

"I'll have to bring the matter in front of the Wizengamot; however, with Mr. Malfoy gone, it might be easier to get through with things," the headmaster replied, thoughtfully. "Harry, please give me some time, but I'll try to get the permission to have two goblins per year attend Hogwarts. Alas I can't promise anything."

"Yes sir, thank you sir," Harry replied, gratefully.

"Now I believe that it's time for us to head to the Great Hall for dinner," Dumbledore said, pleasantly, and adjourned the meeting.

HP

After dinner, Draco took him aside. "Harry, do you think I can tell your friends about my father, or will they ridicule me then?"

"They won't," Harry reassured the Slytherin. "I think you should tell them what happened. They'll understand how bad the situation is for you."

Draco sighed. "For Mother it's much worse than for me. I'm here and have friends here, fortunately outside of Slytherin. And I know that I never want to become like my father. He was not a good person."

"Even though he was your father," Harry said in a small voice. "If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me."

"Thanks," Draco replied, and a small smile played on his lips.

Their friends reacted just like Harry had imagined it, and by the time they had to return to their houses for curfew, he had the impression that Draco felt much consoled. "I just hope the Slytherins will leave me in peace," he said, when he separated from Harry in front of Harry's door.

"If not, just come here and stay with me, even if it's in the middle of the night," Harry replied in a soothing voice, making sure that Helga heard his words, so that she wouldn't put up a fight with the boy if he showed up in the middle of the night.

HP

To Harry's great annoyance, the Minister had only time to come to Hogwarts on Thursday.

"Great," Harry muttered, when Snape informed him and Brightbird on Tuesday evening, when they met to brew the wolvescure.

"I'm sorry Harry," Snape replied. "If you're not well enough to attend, I'll just accept it for you."

Harry thanked the professor, smiling at the older wizard, and set to work.

"How long do you think we'll have to continue brewing the cure?" he asked the adults. "How many werewolves are there?"

Snape and Brightbird exchanged a glance. "Maybe another year," Snape replied, shrugging.

"I believe that there are more than we can imagine," Brightbird voiced his thought. "Why Harry? I thought you liked brewing together with us," he added, smirking.

"Yes, but not right before the full moon," Harry replied, sighing. "At any other time I'd be thrilled."

HP

Two days later, Harry felt bad enough to consider accepting Snape's offer to skip the meeting with the Minister. When they had finished the second and last batch for the evening, he hesitantly voiced his thought, and both adults agreed immediately.

Snape motioned Harry to sit down for a moment, while he'd take the potions to Pomfrey and Brightbird would clean the lab, and Harry gratefully followed the instruction. _'I just hope we'll find a cure soon,'_ he thought. _'Maybe I should spend more time skimming Slytherin's books. Perhaps there's something about the Full Moon disease.'_

"Did Pomfrey excuse you from classes tomorrow?" Snape queried, placing a cold hand on Harry's forehead.

"She always tries," Harry replied, smirking, when a sudden thought crossed his mind. "If she did, could I teach the Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff first-years?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Definitely not," Snape replied, immediately, while Brightbird chuckled. "You should know by now that Potions classes can be very dangerous, and you as the teacher have to be really alert in order to prevent accidents."

"Oh right, that's true," Harry agreed.

"Did you like teaching so much?" the professor queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes, it was great fun," Harry admitted. "Sir, would I be able to teach if I was your apprentice? Instead of attending other classes?"

"Some classes you would still need," Snape replied, thoughtfully. "However, I suggest that we continue this conversation at a later time. The Minister will already be waiting for us."

_tbc..._

_Thanks you very much for the kind reviews :-)_


	25. Chapter 25

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

While Harry returned to his room, the two Potions Masters headed to the headmaster's office in order to receive the Order of Merlin from the Minister.

_'Thank Merlin I could skip that meeting,'_ Harry thought, as he stretched out on his bed.

HP

On Friday morning, the second-years had Charms, where they learnt a spell that the goblin children had already studied in their third year. _'I could as well have skipped this class,'_ Harry thought in annoyance, as he dragged himself to the greenhouses for his second morning class.

When they arrived at the greenhouse, in which their class was supposed to take place, it looked like after a storm. Parts of plants were lying everywhere, the mandrakes like those which the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had re-potted during their last class were lying there with their roots out of the pots and thus screaming their heads off, and the professor was nowhere to be seen.

"What happened here?" Hermione blurted out in shock.

"We better clean up here," Harry replied, glancing at his classmates, who immediately set to work.

"Be careful though," Hermione warned the others. "Only touch a plant if you know what it is and that it's harmless."

"Let's pot these mandrakes first," Harry instructed a group of classmates, who were standing around him. _'Just what I needed today,'_ he thought, noticing that the screaming of the plants aggravated his headache.

The class was already half over and the classroom almost cleaned, when Professor Sprout showed up. "Oh my, you've done a great job!" she greeted them in apparent surprise. "Thank you so much for cleaning up here. One hundred points each to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff."

"Professor, what happened here?" Hermione asked, curiously.

Sprout rolled her eyes in apparent annoyance. "I had the Gryffindor and Slytherin second-years in the first morning class," she explained. " Weasley and Malfoy started the fight, and Finnigan, Thomas, Crabbe and Goyle joined them. They destroyed several of my plants. I hope that the mandrakes will be all right due to your quick and kind actions. All six students are in the hospital wing now with burns and boils from the poisonous Vingea over there, but as soon as they're all right, they'll be suspended from Hogwarts for a week," the professor told them, sounding very angry. "Even Mr. Longbottom was hurt by the plant, although he merely wanted to stop the others from fighting," she added, shaking her head in apparent annoyance.

_'Oh no, poor Draco,'_ Harry thought. He could well imagine that the boy was not very keen on returning home, where everything reminded him of his father, for a week right now. _'And poor Neville,_' he thought, resolving to visit his friends as soon as he could.

"Professor, is there anything else that we can help with?" Susan asked, causing everyone else to nod their agreement.

"Yes, there is," Sprout replied and instructed some students to go and speak with one special kind of plant that needed reassurance that it would be all right and that something like the earlier happenings would not happen again anytime soon. Others were told to clean up another type of plant, and Hermione, Susan, Harry and Terry were asked to help with the leaves of the poisonous Vingea, which fortunately none of them had touched, as they didn't know the plant and it did not look harmless to them. The professor handed safety gloves to the four students and showed them how to carefully touch the leaves.

"For the plant itself we can't do anything right now," Sprout informed them. "I have to ask Professor Snape to brew the Vingea Venganis potion for me."

"If you have the recipe, I can brew it right away," Harry offered, giving the teacher a questioning look.

"Oh Harry, that would be so sweet of you," Sprout replied, gratefully, and fetched the recipe from inside the drawer of her desk. "What is your next class though? This class is already over, although we haven't been able to do anything."

Harry smiled. "My next class would be Potions, so I have a free period anyway. I'll be back as soon as it's finished."

"Harry, are you all right?" Hermione asked in concern, when they left the greenhouse together. Rescuing the mandrakes and then dealing with the Vingea was strenuous enough already. Due to your concealment charms I don't even know..." She slowly trailed off, when they reached the entrance hall.

"I'll be all right," Harry replied, soothingly. "I'll probably skip the afternoon classes. Professor Binns won't miss me, and Defence..." He sighed.

"I understand Harry," Hermione reassured him and promised to come to see him after the last afternoon class.

HP

Harry headed to his lab and immediately brewed the potion for the Herbology professor. He always loved to brew a new potion, which he had not brewed before; however, he had to admit to himself that it had not to be just on the day of the full moon. He realised soon that the potion was fairly difficult to brew, but an hour later, it was finished, and Harry quickly bottled it and took it to the greenhouse. To his relief, the last morning class was just over and the professor was alone in the classroom.

"Thank you so much Harry," she said, smiling, and awarded another fifty points to Ravenclaw, before she immediately fed the lime green liquid to the poisonous plant.

Even if Harry knew nothing about the plant, he noticed that it stretched itself and immediately looked much healthier than before.

On the way back to his own room, Harry looked at the hourglass in the Great Hall, realising in disbelief that Ravenclaw was far ahead the other houses. Next was Hufflepuff just above Slytherin with almost four hundreds points less than Ravenclaw. _'Why are we so many points ahead?_' Harry wondered, staring at the hourglass in confusion. _'I hope we'll manage to win both cups again this year,'_ he thought, once again feeling very happy to be in Ravenclaw.

HP

Back in his room, he merely crossed the room and stepped into Madam Pomfrey's office.

"Ah Harry," the healer greeted him as friendly as always. "Do you want me to excuse you from your afternoon classes?"

"Yes please," Harry replied and, noticing Pomfrey's critical look, explained, "It's two hours of Defence and History of Magic. Excuse me Madame, may I see Neville and Draco for a moment please?"

"Yes you may," Pomfrey agreed. "Mr. Longbottom will be happy to see you. I hope I'll be able to release him now in time for lunch though, and the others have already been taken home for a week by their parents."

"Neville," Harry said, smiling, as he stepped around the first bed next to Pomfrey's office. "Do you know that you're the most courageous boy whom I know?"

Neville gave him a confused look. "I'm not," he replied, nervously fingering his bed cover.

"You are," Harry insisted. "Stepping into a fight between Gryffindor and Slytherin is very courageous, isn't it Madam Pomfrey?" he added, seeing that the healer had followed him.

"I think so too," Pomfrey confirmed, smiling, before she turned into healer's mode and waved her wand over Neville. "Mr. Longbottom, you're free to go," she finally said and with a flick of her wand transfigured his clothes back into his school attire. "See that you'll still get some lunch in the Great Hall. Could you please inform Mr. Lupin that Harry is exempt from his Defence class this afternoon?"

"Yes I will," Neville promised, giving Harry a concerned look. "Take care Harry."

"Thank you Neville," Harry replied, smiling, glad that he had finally told his friends and his classmates about his illness.

"Are you not going to eat lunch?" Pomfrey asked Harry, when they returned to her office together.

"No, I'll just go back to my room," Harry replied, sighing.

He went straight to bed deciding to thinking about an idea that wouldn't leave him in peace since the previous evening. _'Should I become Snape's apprentice?'_ he wondered, trying to consider the plus and minus points of both options. Deep in thoughts, he did not realise that Madam Pomfrey entered the room.

"Harry, is something wrong?" the healer asked in concern, causing the boy to look up, startled.

"Ah no, sorry, I just didn't see or hear you," Harry replied, smiling at the kind healer. "Excuse me Madame, may I ask you something?" he enquired, hesitantly.

"Of course dear," Pomfrey replied and took a seat on the edge of his bed.

"A few months ago, Professor Snape has told my parents that he'd be willing to take me as an apprentice," Harry spoke up, slowly. "I'm wondering if I should accept the offer. I really liked it when I could teach the first-years during the week before the Christmas holidays, and I already know that I want to specialise on Potions, so..." He slowly trailed off, hesitantly looking at the older witch. However, seeing that she was listening patiently, he continued to speak. "Last week, Flitwick... err, sorry Professor Flitwick... informed us about the selective subjects, from which we have to choose. Frankly speaking, I'm not interested in any of them, and I think they'd all be just a waste of time if I could use the time doing Potions studies and research."

Pomfrey curiously looked at the boy. "Wouldn't it be better to try out some of the subjects before deciding that they're uninteresting?" she queried in a soft voice.

Harry sighed. "Well, Muggle studies I have tried at the Dursleys', Arithmancy and Ancient Runes we had in our third and fourth class at the goblin school, Divination I haven't tried, but I have listened to the older students making up fake dreams for their homework, no thank you. Care of Magical Creatures might be the most interesting, but as far as I heard from my older housemates, it's mostly caring for flubberworms, which I'm really not interested in," he explained in a firm voice, causing the healer to smile. "Plus I'd like to get rid of History of Magic, as I'd never pass it, because of my infinite fights with Binns about the goblin wars," he added, rolling his eyes in annoyance at the thought of the narrow-minded ghost.

"Too bad that there isn't a Healing class," he mumbled as an afterthought, "because that would be a useful addition to my Potions studies."

Pomfrey smiled. "Well Harry, I don't believe that I'm the most competent among my colleagues to advise you," she said, slowly. "Professors Snape or Flitwick would probably more adequate." Seeing Harry shake his head, she continued, "I'd be willing to teach you Healing. So far, I've only done this once, and that was when Professor Snape and your mother were students. I taught them together."

Harry looked up with interest, when the healer went on, "I agree that it would be a good addition to your studies and research. I also think that it would surely make sense to set the beginning of the selective subjects in your third year as starting point for the apprenticeship. However, I'd strongly advise you, and Professor Snape would probably not accept anything else, to keep your main subjects like Transfiguration, Charms and Defence at least until your OWLs and Herbology even until you take the NEWT."

"All right," Harry agreed immediately.

"You're aware of the fact that Professor Snape is very strict?" Pomfrey warned him. "He won't let you do what you want but force a close schedule upon you. He'll probably make you work for the Potions Mastery in spite of your young age."

HP

Before Harry was able to reply, Helga announced that Professor Snape would like to visit Harry.

"Please let him in," Harry said in surprise and hurried to bring himself into a sitting position.

An instant later, the Potions Master strode into the room. "Mr. Potter," he greeted the boy and, seeing that Pomfrey rose from the edge of Harry's bed to make space for him, added, "Stay Poppy, I merely wanted to bring Harry his Order of Merlin."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Thank you sir," he replied, sighing. "Did I miss anything important?"

Snape quirked an eyebrow. "Do you really think there might have been anything important during that meeting?" he queried, smirking.

"Not really sir," Harry admitted, causing Pomfrey to chuckle.

The professor placed a flat box on the night table. "This is the award," he explained. "Other than that the money has been directly put into your account."

"Thank you sir," Harry said, smiling.

Snape merely nodded his head and turned around to leave, when Harry addressed him. "Professor, I'd like to become your apprentice with the beginning of the next school year if that's still possible."

"Very well," the professor replied, and Harry had the impression as if his blank face softened some for an instant before it returned to normal. "We'll speak about the details after the full moon."

"All right sir, thank you sir," Harry replied, feeling very relieved. _'That's the best reaction I can get from him,'_ he thought with a small smile playing on his lips.

"All right now Harry, get some rest now," Pomfrey told him and left the room together with Snape.

HP

In the morning after the full moon, Harry ate breakfast together with his mother, happy that it was a Saturday and he did not have any obligations.

Suddenly, Hermione stormed into the room. "Good morning Gwenlin, good morning Harry," she said, trying to catch her breath.

"Mione, what's wrong?" Harry asked in concern, causing the girl to smile.

"Harry, after you told me about the house points yesterday, I checked the hour glasses, and we're indeed about five hundred points ahead of all the other houses. I asked Professor Flitwick before breakfast, and he told me that Madam Pomfrey is giving you house points whenever you brew a batch of potions for her. That's why we have so many points, apart from getting a lot yesterday from Professor Sprout."

Harry stared at his friend in surprise. "But that's not right," he said, slowly. "I'm supposed to have privileges, even if I don't use them, but not to gain house points."

"Just be happy about it Harry," Hermione replied. "Probably Pomfrey gives you points knowing that you don't use the privileges."

"Oh well, one I am using," Harry remembered, chuckling. "Officially, it's a privilege that I return home on Sundays. Anyway, I think that's unfair, because the other students don't have the opportunity to gain house points that way."

"Nonsense," Hermione insisted. "Everyone could go and help a teacher and would surely gain points; it's just that no one doesn't bother to do such a thing."

HP

No one was surprised when Ravenclaw once again won both the house cup and the Quidditch cup. _'Next year it won't be so easy,'_ Harry thought while he was riding the Hogwarts Express, cramped in a compartment together with all his friends. _'From August onwards, I'll be Snape's apprentice and as such I won't get house points for brewing potions for Pomfrey, even if I still belong to Ravenclaw.'_

He had agreed with the Professor to commence his apprenticeship on the first of August in order to have some time to get used to it, before the other classes were going to begin again. On the one hand, he was looking forward to the apprenticeship, but on the other hand, he felt sad that he could only spend about six weeks on Goblin Island. _'Oh well, for the twins school begins on the first of August anyway,'_ he thought, _'and I can be glad that Snape promised me that I'll still be able to return home every Sunday afternoon.'_

"Harry, don't fall asleep," Hermione suddenly addressed him. "We're going to reach King's Cross in a few minutes."

"I'm not sleeping, I was only thinking," Harry replied, absentmindedly. "Will you come over tomorrow?"

"Of course," the girl promised, smiling. "I'm so looking forward to the holidays on Goblin Island," she added, excitedly.

"Me too," Harry agreed, feeling very happy.

However, after a conversation with Buckbean a few days later, his mood dropped greatly.

_tbc..._

_A huge thanks to the kind readers who left a review after the previous chapter!_


	26. Chapter 26

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

"Harry, you remember the diary, the black book, which we destroyed last autumn," Buckbean began to speak, making Harry look at his father in surprise.

"Of course sir," he replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Apparently, that book was a Horcrux," Buckbean informed him and patiently explained what a Horcrux was. "The goblins believe that Voldemort made more Horcruxes, and they're now trying to find out where they can find them. They need to be destroyed, before we can think about how to finally kill Voldemort for good."

"Excuse me Dad, but what does it have to do with me?" Harry queried with a combination of surprise and annoyance.

"You're connected with him through your scar," Buckbean said, gravely. "Moreover, a prophecy seems to have been made about you and Voldemort. I'm not aware of the exact content, however, apparently you have to be the one to vanquish him. In order to vanquish him, we need to destroy all of his Horcruxes first though. So right now there's nothing that you can or need to do. Leave everything to the goblins for the time being."

"All right Dad," Harry replied, sighing, before he added as an afterthought, "That means that he is alive in some form now, right?" Seeing his father's grave expression, he did not need a reply.

"He must be," Buckbean agreed. "Although we don't know in what kind of form. Just be very alert and careful son."

HP

Harry spent most of his holidays doing research together with Brightbird, translating Slytherin's recipes and reading through all his third year books. During the afternoons, the twins insisted that he had to accompany Hermione and them to the beach, where the two soon to be third-years practised the Animagus transformation.

On Harry's birthday, for which his siblings and Hermione had again arranged for a birthday party on the beach, Harry and Hermione surprised everyone by transforming into their phoenix and owl forms.

"Oh Merlin," McGonagall blurted out, horrified. "I completely forgot that I promised to teach you to become Animagi. I'm so sorry Ms. Granger and Mr. Potter."

Hermione smiled. "That's all right Professor. Jane and Kengo practised together with us."

"Anyway congratulations for managing the Animagus transformation," Pomfrey threw in. "You have both beautiful forms."

"Harry, are you going to ride the Hogwarts Express tomorrow, or how are you going to travel to Hogwarts?" McGonagall asked before taking the floo back to Hogwarts together with her friends.

"I'm just going to apparate like I do every Sunday," Harry replied in a soft voice. "I'll see you tomorrow I guess."

"Oh yes dear," Pomfrey spoke up in a stern voice. "Professor Snape likes to miss meals, especially during the holidays. Please see to it that you both come to the Great Hall for all three meals. Do you understand me?"

"Yes Madam," Harry reassured her in spite of having no intention to remind the Potions professor of anything that he did not want.

"I'm going to miss you," Hermione said in a small voice, when the adults vanished through the fireplace. "I've never been a whole month without you since the age of three."

Harry's features stretched to a soft smile. "I'm going to miss you too, but remember that you can apparate to my room at Hogwarts to see me at any time, and I'm going to come here every Sunday afternoon."

"I'll try to be here then, and maybe I'll visit you if you tell me when the best time would be," Hermione replied, seemingly consoled.

_'She'll miss me?'_ Harry thought, when he went to bed that night. Somehow, he felt happy at the thought. _'Of course I'm going to miss her too, although I'd never say such a thing. But Hogwarts will be lonely without her. Too bad that students aren't allowed to stay over the summer, otherwise I could just ask her to come with me.'_

HP

Too excited to wait until the time of his appointment with the Potions Master, which was nine o'clock in the morning, Harry apparated to Hogwarts at seven o'clock. He arrived in his own room and immediately began to unpack his luggage, when a sudden thought crossed his mind. _'Will I still be able to remain in my room, and will I still belong to Ravenclaw?'_ So far, he had completely missed to think about this, now however... He was almost relieved when Pomfrey bustled into the room, apparently alerted by Helga that he had arrived.

"Oh my you're early aren't you?" she greeted him, grinning.

"Ah sorry, I just couldn't wait," Harry replied, before he voiced his latest concern.

"Of course Harry, this room will still be yours, and you're also still in Ravenclaw house. You wouldn't want to give up playing Quidditch on the house team now, would you?"

"No," Harry said, almost shocked as the possibility hadn't come to his mind before.

"However," Pomfrey continued, "since you're going to be his apprentice, Professor Snape will now be your guardian and can even overwrite Professor Flitwick's decisions. Therefore, please do exactly as Professor Snape tells you."

"I will," Harry promised, inwardly groaning as he remembered how the Potions Master had behaved towards him during his first Hogwarts year.

"Don't worry sweetie, everything will be all right," Pomfrey said in a soothing voice. "And if anything is bothering you, tell me and I'll see if I can help you."

Harry chuckled. "Thank you Madame. I know that all the teachers are scared of you."

"That they are," Pomfrey agreed, smiling. "Now," she continued in a sterner voice, "since you're so early, you're going to accompany me to the Great Hall for breakfast. I'm sure everyone will be happy to see you."

HP

Somehow, Harry felt like a first-year, as he followed Snape to the dungeons an hour later. The professor motioned him to take a seat in front of his desk, while he lowered himself into his chair behind the desk.

"Your tasks as my apprentice are slightly similar to those of a student assistant," Snape began to speak in a soft, baritone voice. "However, in most cases I won't give you the choice of which potions to brew, for example for the hospital wing, but I will decide, and I expect you to do exactly as I say."

"Yes sir," Harry threw in, seeing that the professor quirked an eyebrow.

"The reason is that I will have you brew the potions that you need to know in order to take your Mastery after three years," Snape continued. "When classes begin in a month, we're going to adjust your schedule around your classes. We'll speak about this when you receive your time table from Professor Flitwick."

"Yes sir," Harry voiced his understanding.

"On the day of the full moon and the day afterwards, you are off all duties for the time being," Snape informed him, causing Harry to give the older wizard a horrified look.

Not daring to fight with the professor before his apprenticeship had even properly begun, Harry did not say anything but resolved to speak about the matter with Madam Pomfrey.

"If you're indisposed at any other time, you will tell me immediately and do as Madam Pomfrey says," the professor said sternly. "In the evenings, you will do your homework for the other subjects and enjoy your evening. However, I might call you to assist in urgent cases, provided that it's still before curfew."

"Excuse me sir, what about Quidditch practice?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"You may attend Quidditch practice if your condition allows it and if we don't have to urgently brew many batches of potions," the professor informed him. "On Sunday afternoons you're allowed to go home like before. From time to time I might accompany you to speak with Brightbird about your progress and our research. We still need to brew the wolvescure every month, and we'll find time to continue our research for a cure for the Blue Moon disease."

The listing up of the Potions Master's rules continued for almost an hour, however, Harry agreed to everything, not wanting to anger the professor.

"Have you already finished your summer assignments for your classes?" Snape finally asked.

"Yes sir," Harry replied, thinking, _'I wouldn't be able to spend my holidays with Hermione without doing my homework.'_

"Show them to me later on or tomorrow," Snape demanded. "I'll correct them for you."

"Thank you sir," Harry said, feeling very apprehensive about the matter.

"During the next four weeks, you're going to brew Mastery level potions in the mornings and potions for the hospital wing in the afternoons," Snape informed him, making Harry nod eagerly. "However, since Madam Pomfrey has much time during the holidays, she'd like to begin with your Healing classes right away. Therefore please fix a schedule with her, preferably during the afternoons."

"All right sir, I will," Harry promised, feeling happy at the thought of being able to brew new potions every day.

He had almost the impression as if the conversation was finally finished, when the Potions Master brought up another topic.

"Have you ever heard of Sirius Black?" the teacher asked, his expression schooled to a blank mask.

"No sir," Harry replied in surprise.

Snape sighed. "He was your father's best friend, and he was the one who gave out your parents to the Dark Lord," he explained. Seeing Harry's confused expression, he continued, "Why I'm telling you that is because he recently escaped from Azkaban, and some of my colleagues suspect that he escaped in order to get to you."

"Me?" Harry queried, wide-eyed.

"You were the one who vanquished his master many years ago," Snape explained. "In fact, I'm not sure if Black was a follower of the Dark Lord at all, however, this is what many people including my colleagues believe. Now since the man might be dangerous for you, you will not be allowed to participate in the Hogsmeade visits until he'll be captured." Noticing that Harry looked slightly disappointed, even if the boy did not protest, he added, "Instead I'll take you to Hogsmeade at other times and if you want you may take one friend with you."

"Hermione please," Harry replied, immediately. "Thank you so much sir."

HP

The four weeks until the beginning of the school year went by much too fast for Harry's liking. Apart from the few days around the full moon, when he was not allowed to brew potions, the professor made him brew really difficult potions every morning. In the afternoon, Pomfrey gave him Healing classes, which were much more interesting than Harry had dared to hope. He also realised soon that Pomfrey was a wonderful teacher and he learned a lot. _'If I manage to have my own apothecary after school, I really need this knowledge,'_ he thought, gratefully.

HP

On the Sunday right before the beginning of the school year, the captain of the goblins' children's team kept Harry back after practice. "Harry, when will you be fourteen?" the captain asked, giving him a sharp look.

"At the end of July next year," Harry replied in confusion.

"Eleven more months," the goblin said, thoughtfully. Seeing Harry's questioning look, he explained, "the trainer of the adults' team was asking me about you. They urgently need a good Seeker, and you're predestined to fill the position. I'll ask them if they're willing to wait another eleven months or if they want to bend the fourteen years' rule." He smirked. "You'd be willing to play on the adults' team, wouldn't you?"

"Of course sir," Harry replied, happily.

"You know that the adults' team doesn't only play against the children's team but also has matches against the wizards and the elves, right?" the goblin asked sternly.

"Yes I know and I'm looking forward to play for the goblins," Harry replied, grinning.

HP

He arrived just on time for the welcoming feast, during which the headmaster informed everyone that Dementors had been placed around the school to ensure the safety of all inhabitants of Hogwarts.

"They're horrible," Hermione told Harry. "They came onto the train as if they were searching for someone. All of a sudden, it was so cold and I felt horrible. I just hope they stay far away from the grounds."

"I hope so too. I wouldn't want to meet them," Harry agreed, unaware of the fact that he was going to have an encounter with them sooner or later.

HP

Roger Davies, who was now a fifth-year, had become the Quidditch captain, since Marcus Miller had graduated at the end of the last school year.

"From now on we're going to have Quidditch practice every morning from five o'clock to six o'clock," he announced, when he gathered the team in the common room on the first day of classes.

"In the mornings?" Terry queried, who wanted to try out for the position of a chaser.

"Yes," Roger confirmed. "That way it won't collide with homework, neither with the activities of the other houses."

_'That's true,'_ Harry thought, even if the idea of playing Quidditch in the morning did not seem overly appealing, especially as it was already dark that early in the morning. _'If they train every morning apart from the weekends, I have to tell Roger about the Blue Moon disease,'_ he resolved. _'I can't attend practise on the full moon and the morning afterwards.'_

Luckily, the September full moon fell onto a weekend, so that Harry had time until the end of October to speak with the Quidditch captain. Fortunately, Roger was very understanding and told him that it wouldn't be a problem if Harry missed the practice, since he was good enough without practising at all.

HP

On the second day after the full moon, Harry felt well enough to attend practice and slowly mounted his broom, noticing that his housemates seemed to be as tired as himself. _'It's really cold this morning,'_ he suddenly thought, wondering if it had been too early to attend practice again. However, when he slowly flew above everyone else looking out for the Snitch, he realised, horrified, that the coldness had a different reason. It slowly became darker and colder around him, and suddenly he heard a woman cry. _'What was that?'_ he wondered, before his mind slowly drifted towards unconsciousness and he lost the grip on his broom.

_tbc..._

_A huge thanks to the kind readers who reviewed the previous chapter!_


	27. Chapter 27

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

'Harry, Harry,' Iro shouted into the boy's mind, while the Ravenclaws observed, horrified, how Harry tumbled down towards the ground. 'Transform into your phoenix form.'

In his semi-conscious state, Harry automatically obeyed the voice and transformed, less than a few inches above the ground.

His teammates were standing there, panicking. No one knew a spell to slow down a person that was falling off their broom, a few students had tried to pull Harry onto their broom but without success, and they already feared the worst, when Harry suddenly transformed into an ice phoenix with a colourful snake wrapped around his head. The bird flapped its wings twice, before it fell onto the ground together with the snake and remained unmoving.

The serpent slithered away from the phoenix and hissed, "Don't sstand there gaping. Fetch Madam Pomfrey you dunderheadsss."

However, no one was able to understand Parseltongue, and everyone was by now effected by the Dementors.

"Let's head inside. I'm going to take Harry to Pomfrey," Roger spoke up and carefully lifted the bird off the ground, before the whole group hurried inside, followed by Harry's familiar.

HP

When Harry's mind turned back to awareness, he realised, horrified, that he found himself in one of the crispy white beds in the hospital wing. Hermione and the complete Ravenclaw Quidditch team were standing or sitting around his bed.

"What happened?" he asked in confusion, when he recalled that it had become dark and cold and he had heard a woman cry.

"There were Dementors Harry," Hermione informed him. "I was watching your practice from the common room window, and I thought you were going to die. It was so horrible." Tears began to leak from the girl's eyes, and Harry automatically reached for her hand.

"It's all right Mione," he said soothingly. "I'm fine."

"Thank Merlin," Hermione replied, sniffling. She pointed to the night table. "Pomfrey said you must eat all the chocolate over there, and after that you're free to leave."

Harry looked from the huge amount of chocolate to his team mates. "Can you help me and eat some of it please?" he asked, pleadingly, only to receive a collective chuckle in return.

"We've all had to eat too much chocolate for our liking already," Roger informed him. "We'll leave you in peace now."

Everyone but Hermione left, and Harry carefully wiped two errand tears from the girl's cheek, before he reached for the first piece of chocolate. _'She is beautiful inside and outside,'_ he thought. _'I should ask her to become my girlfriend, even if it's strange, since I've been so close to her since we were seven.'_

"Who was that woman?" he finally spoke up after finishing the first piece. "She cried. It was so horrible."

Hermione stared at him in apparent concern. "No one cried Harry. While we were waiting for you to wake up, Pomfrey explained to us that the Dementors make people relive their worst memories. But they're only memories, not real, so don't worry about that now."

"All right," Harry replied, once again gently wiping a tear from her cheek. "Don't cry Mione, everything's all right," he said in a soft voice. _'Maybe I should really ask her,'_ he thought, however, before he could gather the courage to speak up, Madam Pomfrey bustled into the room.

"Ms. Granger, the second morning class is going to commence in a few minutes, and as you can see Harry will be fine. You may come back after your classes," the healer said in her no-nonsense voice that made everyone obey immediately.

With a pout on her face, Hermione grudgingly left the room after admonishing Harry to be careful.

"Bye Mione and thanks for staying with me," Harry replied, smiling, before he turned to the healer. "May I please leave here and go back to my room? I promise I will still eat that mountain of chocolate."

"No, I want you to eat it all here before I'll let you go," Pomfrey disagreed, causing Harry to inwardly groan.

HP

Two hours later, he was still only half through the pile of chocolate and had the feeling as if he wouldn't be able to stomach any more chocolate for a week, when Professor Lupin appeared at his bedside.

"Hello Harry," he said, smiling friendly.

"Hi Professor," Harry replied, returning a genuine smile.

"Harry, do you know why you were affected so badly by the Dementors? Was this your first encounter with Dementors?" the Defence professor queried, looking at him in expectation.

"I've no idea sir, and yes, I've never met any Dementor before," Harry said in confusion. "It became cold and dark, and then I heard a voice cry," he added.

"Dementors make people relive their worst memories, which is why Azkaban is so horrible," Lupin explained. "It's guarded by Dementors, and they suck all the good memories out of people making them see the worst over and over. Barely anyone would still be normal after a longer stay in Azkaban," he added, and Harry had the impression as if he was more thinking aloud than talking to him.

"Sirius Black," he spoke up in a soft voice. "Did you know him? Professor Snape told me that he was my father's best friend as well."

"Yes Harry," the professor confirmed, sighing. "And I still can't believe that he did what he apparently did. I'd have trusted him with my life just like your parents did. Nevertheless," he added, "you must be very careful."

"Professor," Harry addressed the older wizard, returning to their former topic. "Is there any spell or anything that works against Dementors? Anything that I can use to defend myself if they attack me again?"

"There is," Lupin admitted, thoughtfully. "The Patronus charm. However, it's very difficult to cast, even for adults. I can try to teach you though if that's what you want."

"Oh yes please sir," Harry replied, excitedly.

Lupin smiled at the boy. "Very well, you'll need Professor Snape's permission though, considering that you're his apprentice and not a normal student."

Harry inwardly groaned. "I'm free in the evenings, except for emergencies," he informed the older wizard, "and since we now have Quidditch practice in the mornings..."

"Nevertheless, you have to ask him," Lupin insisted, gently patting the boy's arm. "Don't worry Harry, he'll agree, especially after what happened this morning."

"All right sir, thank you sir, I'll ask him as soon as I'll be able to get out here," Harry replied, eyeing the seemingly infinite pile of chocolate in disgust.

Lupin smirked. "Eat Harry, it'll help," he said, smiling. "Shall I tell Professor Snape that you'd like to speak with him?"

Harry remained pensive for a moment, before he replied, "No thank you sir. He's busy enough, especially if I won't be able to help with the brewing this afternoon. But please tell him that if he has a way to get me out of here, I'll be eternally grateful."

"I will," Lupin replied, chuckling, and took his leave.

_'I'm sure the next time I meet a Dementor, I'll see a memory of a mountain of chocolate,'_ Harry thought in disgust as he popped another piece of chocolate into his mouth.

HP

"Nice attempt Mr. Potter," suddenly a soft, baritone voice penetrated his mind. "Even I won't be able to get you out of here if you don't finish your chocolate," Snape told him, sounding compassionate.

"I'm sorry sir, I'd like to assist you, and I'm completely fine," Harry replied in annoyance, before he stopped himself, realising that he sounded very whiny.

Madam Pomfrey chose that instant to come out of her office and stare at the chocolate on Harry's night table in clear disapproval.

"Poppy, it's typical for a Potter, isn't it?" Snape turned to the healer and sneered, "I won't have Mr. Potter skip his work as my apprentice pretending that he's unable to eat some pieces of chocolate. Will you please end this nonsense and instruct the lazybones to finally begin brewing his potions?"

"I'm sorry Professor," Harry threw in, wondering if the professor really meant it or if he was joking.

Pomfrey gave him a pitying look and replied, "Very well then, but you must see to it that he finishes his chocolate during the afternoon."

The Potions Master gave her a short nod and said, "Come Mr. Potter."

Glad that Pomfrey kindly transfigured the stripy hospital pyjamas into his school clothes, Harry hurried behind the professor. "Thank you sir," he whispered, as soon as they closed the door behind them. "That was very Slytherin."

"You're welcome Harry," Snape replied, smirking, before he asked in a sterner voice, "Are you feeling well enough to brew or grade homework though? Otherwise you may just go to the common room and rest."

"I'm fine sir," Harry replied, smiling. "I'll just do whatever needs to be done first."

HP

Pomfrey and Snape both forbade Harry to participate in the morning's Quidditch practice from that time onwards, causing Harry to become very upset.

"I'm not allowed to go to Hogsmeade because of Sirius Black, not allowed to practise Quidditch because of the Dementors, why don't they just lock me into my room?" he ranted one evening, feeling very annoyed.

"Harry, I'm glad that they worry about you and help you to stay safe," Hermione commented in a soft voice.

However, only on Halloween did Harry realise how lucky he was that everyone was trying to keep him safe.

Harry had just returned to his room, when the headmaster's voice sounded through the castle. "All students return to the Great Hall immediately."

He turned to Helga in confusion.

"Give me a moment to check what's the matter dear. Stay here so long," Helga said gently, just when Hermione slipped into the room.

"Harry, are you not going to go to the Great Hall?" she asked in a stern voice.

"No," Harry replied simply. "Helga is trying to find out why he calls us back there after releasing us only twenty minutes ago."

"I'll stay with you then," Hermione decided and let herself sink onto the second chair in front of his desk.

It took a while, before Helga returned to her portrait, wearing a grave expression.

"Sirius Black broke into Hogwarts and attacked the Fat Lady, who is guarding the entrance to Gryffindor. Apparently, he wanted to get into Gryffindor for some reason," the Founder explained to the stunned students.

"If he's looking for me, why did he go to Gryffindor and didn't try to get into Ravenclaw though?" Harry asked in confusion, just when Pomfrey entered the room.

"Knowing that your parents were Gryffindors, he might just expect you to be there," she replied, sighing. "Stay here in your room, both of you," she added, "until I come and tell you otherwise."

"Yes Madame," Hermione and Harry replied, simultaneously. "Thank you for allowing us to remain here," Harry said, gratefully.

"I'll ask Professor Flitwick to charm your door to only be visible to your friends and teachers," Pomfrey promised and bustled away.

HP

Harry and Hermione made themselves comfortable on Harry's bed, sitting next to each other with their backs against the wall. _'It's now or never,'_ Harry suddenly thought and hesitantly spoke up.

"Mione, I know it's not a very romantic moment to ask this, but would you perhaps like to become my girlfriend?"

His best friend stared at him in apparent surprise, before she set to reply, just when Pomfrey entered the room speaking immediately.

"All students are going to remain in the Great Hall overnight. Ms. Granger, since you're not able to stay in Harry's room overnight, you may sleep in the room next to him. Come with me please."

"Yes Madame, thank you so much. Just give me one second please," Hermione replied, smiling. In front of the healer's and the Founder's eyes, she leaned over to Harry and kissed him on the cheek, before she said, "Yes Harry, I'd love to become your girlfriend."

"Thank you," Harry replied, happily, and carefully pulled the girl into a kiss, completely forgetting about the spectators who were observing the scene in apparent amusement.

"Congratulations Hermione and Harry," Pomfrey said warmly. "That's really good news tonight, and I'm very happy for the two of you. Good night Harry." With that she pulled Hermione out of the room.

HP

Harry changed into his pyjamas and lay down, noxing off the lights. However, he was much too happy and too excited to sleep. _'I'll go and tell Mum and Dad,'_ he thought, _'maybe they're still up.'_

Not even bothering to inform Helga, he just apparated home, right into the living room. To his relief, Gwenlin and Buckbean were still sitting in front of the fireplace reading. They looked up in apparent surprise, when Harry all of a sudden appeared.

"Harry, is something wrong?" Gwenlin was the first to speak up with an expression of utmost concern.

"What are you doing here in the middle of the night son?" Buckbean queried, sounding equally worried.

"Hermione agreed to become my girlfriend," Harry blurted out. "Sorry, but I was so happy, I just had to come and tell you the good news."

"Well that's indeed good news," Gwenlin replied, seemingly relieved. "I couldn't wish for a nicer girlfriend for my youngest."

"Well done son. I greatly appreciate it," Buckbean agreed with his wife's opinion.

Harry spent half an hour talking with his parents, before he finally apparated back to Hogwarts and let himself sink onto his bed, exhausted but happy. The thought _'I should try to apparate to Hogsmeade sometime during the day and buy a ring for her_' crossed his mind as he drifted off to sleep.

_tbc..._

_A huge thanks to the kind readers who reviewed the previous chapter! _


	28. Chapter 28

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

To Harry's relief, Snape agreed with Lupin's plan of teaching Harry the Patronus charm, and twice a week, Harry visited the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor for his lesson.

"You have to think of a very happy memory," Lupin instructed the boy in their first lesson, causing Harry to smile.

He cast the spell, causing a white mist to appear in front of him, making the professor commend him greatly. "Very good," he said in praise. "And that on the first attempt. May I ask what the memory was that you thought of?"

"It was the memory of Hermione kissing me and agreeing to become my girlfriend," Harry replied in a soft voice. "May I try again?"

"Of course," Lupin said, smiling encouragingly. "You're very powerful and extremely well trained. Therefore, I believe that you'll be able to produce a corporate Patronus relatively soon."

HP

Nevertheless, it took several weeks, before they were able to recognise the form that his Patronus was going to take. It was some kind of bird. _'Maybe an owl like Mione's Animagus form?'_ Harry wondered, feeling happy at the idea.

It was indeed an owl Patronus together with Dumbledore's phoenix Patronus that chased away the Dementors, when they attacked again, this time during the Quidditch match Ravenclaw versus Slytherin at the end of January. _'I did it,'_ Harry thought, feeling very happy that he had managed to defend himself and his team. He felt exhausted, as he had pushed all his magic into the Patronus, however, he still succeeded in catching the Snitch an hour later.

"Harry, that was absolutely amazing, what was it?" Hermione questioned him, when the friends retreated to their meeting room in the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor quarters after the victory party.

"That was a Patronus," Harry replied and promised to teach his friends once or twice in the evenings. _'So much about having some time for my research now that my lessons with Lupin are over,'_ he thought. _'It's important that they learn it though. Who knows how long it'll take them to capture Sirius Black.'_

HP

Sirius Black indeed managed to fool everyone. In spite of all the precautions, he succeeded once again to get into Hogwarts and up to Gryffindor tower, where he tried in vain to enter the common room.

_'I wonder how he could get through the whole school, although everyone is looking for him, let alone over the grounds that are being watched by the Dementors,'_ Harry mused one evening, when he returned from his lab to his own room. He knew that he was not allowed to be alone in the halls - Hermione and Madam Pomfrey, even Professor Snape, reminded him often enough - however, no one had a problem with him walking the short distance from the common room or the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor quarters to his room.

However, on this evening, a black dog was standing at the edge of the corridor right behind the wall of mist, as if he had been waiting for Harry.

"Hello there," Harry greeted the dog in surprise. He knew the dog, or at least he had seen it before. It often roamed the groans together with Crookshanks, Hermione's kneazle cat. _'He can't be bad,'_ he thought, _'otherwise Crookshanks wouldn't be friends with him.'_

'Something's strange with him. I think it's not a real dog,' Iro informed him, causing Harry to stare at the animal in surprise.

"Who are you? Reveal yourself," he demanded, almost letting out a huge gasp, when the dog transformed into none other than Sirius Black, matching exactly the picture that Harry had seen in the Daily Prohpet.

"You murderer, what do you want from me?" he hissed, his wand firmly in his right hand.

"Ah calm down Harry," the man replied, chuckling. "I didn't do anything. I wasn't their Secret Keeper, and I won't do anything to you. I'm your godfather, and I need your help," he continued in a raspy voice.

_'If that's true, he'll be able to follow me through the wall of mist,'_ Harry thought and instructed the man, "Follow me." With that he turned around and stepped through the wall, uttering the password in a small voice.

To his surprise and more than everything relief, the man stepped through the wall a mere instant later.

"Where are we here?" he queried in apparent suspicion.

"In the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor quarters," Harry replied, before he led him into the living room, where he felt fairly safe, knowing that if anything happened, Helga could easily leave the Founders' portrait and alert Madam Pomfrey. In a colder voice he said, "I believe that you owe me an explanation."

During the following ten minutes, Harry listened with a combination of curiosity and suspicion what Sirius Black told him about his parents, Peter Pettigrew and the change of the Secret Keeper shortly before that fateful Halloween more than twelve years ago.

"Harry, I need your help in order to capture Peter Pettigrew. He's a rat Animagus and the youngest Weasley boy's rat. It's missing a toe," Black ended his explanation. "Or maybe Remus will be able to help me. He's at Hogwarts too, isn't he?"

"Remus as in Remus Lupin?" Harry queried, although he knew exactly about the relationship between the Defence professor and Sirius Black. Lupin had often told him about his childhood friends including Harry's parents.

"Yes, Remus Lupin," Black confirmed.

"Wait a moment," Harry replied. "Let me see if I can find him." Without forewarning, he just apparated away, arriving in front of the Defence professor's office.

HP

Lupin opened the door in obvious surprise. "Harry, what are you doing here all alone and an hour after curfew?" he asked in apparent concern, as he motioned the boy inside.

Harry quickly informed the professor about his conversation with Sirius Black, noticing that the older wizard's expression slowly became happier, when he told him about being sure that the man did not want to harm him due to the fact that the Wall of Mist had let him through.

"Take me to him," Lupin demanded, and Harry hurriedly led the professor to the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor quarters.

The following conversation lasted until two o'clock in the morning, before Lupin and Black decided that Black should accompany Lupin and remain in his quarters in his dog form. "Tomorrow, I'll ask Minerva to bring Mr. Weasley's rat to the headmaster," Lupin promised his old friend.

HP

Due to the full moon, Harry missed his next two Defence classes and had no opportunity to speak with Professor Lupin, so that he only learned several days later that everything that Sirius Black had told him was true. On the second day after the full moon, the headmaster called Harry into his office.

"Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew are going to have a trial tomorrow morning," he informed the boy after offering him the traditional lemon drop that Harry declined as usual. "Professor Lupin will attend the trial and asked if you'd like to accompany him."

_'Maybe I'll get to learn some more about my birth parents,'_ Harry thought and said, "Yes sir, I'd like to go, provided that Professor Snape doesn't mind."

Dumbledore smiled, as he replied, "Professor Lupin has already received Professor Snape's permission before even asking me about taking you with him."

HP

The trial was a huge disappointment for Harry. The fact that Pettigrew was alive and an Animagus missing one finger was evidence enough, so that there was not much questioning let alone about topics concerning Harry's birth parents. The only good thing about the trial was that Pettigrew received a one-way ticket to Azkaban, where he had a date with a Dementor later the same day, while Black was declared a free man and was offered a compensation for the error in justice or rather the lack of justice that had occurred twelve years before.

When the trial was over, it was almost lunchtime, and Black suggested to head to Diagon Alley to have lunch together. Lupin and Harry both agreed, and the three wizards made their way to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Harry," Black addressed him, while they were waiting for their sandwiches, "the other day I told you that I'm your godfather. If you want, you can come and live with me, at least during the holidays."

"Thank you but no thank you," Harry replied, hesitantly, feeling utterly relieved when Lupin interfered and informed his friend about Harry's upbringing with the goblins.

"I understand," Black acknowledged the fact in apparent disappointment. "All these years I held out in Azkaban thinking of you, but it's all right if you don't need me now."

"Sirius, leave the boy in peace," Lupin said, warningly. "You can come and see Harry from time to time, for example at the Quidditch matches," he then suggested in a soft voice.

Harry inwardly sighed in relief when Black agreed and promised to visit Harry at Hogwarts, and when the two wizards proceeded to tell him about their own time at Hogwarts together with Harry's birth parents, the boy was delighted.

HP

Two days later, Harry received a huge, long parcel, which turned out to be a Firebolt, the newest broom available on the market. Although Harry could not complain about his Nimbus 2000, he was very happy with his new broom. A small parchment was attached to it. _'Thanks again for your help. I'll come to watch the next Quidditch match. Your godfather Sirius.'_

"He doesn't even know that he's not my real godfather anymore," he admitted to Hermione later on.

The girl rolled her eyes in annoyance. "And if he knew, I don't think it would matter to him. After all that you told me, he seems to love you for who you are and not because of such a position. He can still be your unofficial godfather, can't he?"

"Yes that's true," Harry agreed, feeling less bad than before about the matter.

HP

Sirius Black should not be disappointed. Happy to enjoy his newly found freedom, the Marauder came to watch every Quidditch match at Hogwarts that involved Ravenclaw house. Like on his old broom, which he had given to a younger student in need of a good broom, Harry managed to catch the Snitch in every game, ensuring the Quidditch cup for Ravenclaw for the third year in a row.

HP

Two days later was the full moon, and when Gwenlin stayed overnight with Harry as usual, Buckbean accompanied her. He informed Harry that the goblins and found and destroyed what they assumed to be all of Voldemort's Horcruxes.

"Thank Merlin," Harry sighed. "Or better thank your goblin colleagues, Dad. They're amazing."

"There's just one problem," Buckbean informed him. "My colleagues believe that there's another Horcrux buried in your head, which is why you received your scar. They've researched a way to remove the Horcrux from your head and only recently succeeded. That's why I'm telling you this now. Two of my colleagues want to remove the Horcrux, maybe together with your headmaster and myself. I will now speak with Madam Pomfrey and if possible with Professor Dumbledore and arrange a date if that's all right with you."

"Of course Dad. I trust you," Harry replied, lazily.

HP

Buckbean agreed with Pomfrey, Dumbledore and his colleagues that the spell should be cast at Harry's scar in his own room at Hogwarts on Saturday morning, which was five days after the full moon and therefore a good timing for Harry.

Harry was slightly worried but not overly so, when his father showed up with the goblins in tow. Helga quickly informed Pomfrey of the goblins' arrival, and Madam Pomfrey and the headmaster entered the room just a minute later.

Harry motioned Iro to stay away from him and settled down on the edge of his bed, looking at the adults in expectation. _'They'll know what they're doing,'_ he thought, trying to calm himself.

"Harry, I'm going to only watch," Pomfrey told him, taking a seat on a chair right opposite of him. "If you're in pain, just let me know, and I'll spell potions into your system."

Harry nodded gratefully and fixed his eyes on the healer in order to not look at the people who were going to cast a spell at him. He only knew that the spell had been cast, when his scar erupted in pain, before the world around him turned black.

HP

When Harry's mind returned back to consciousness, he found himself lying in his bed. Only a few torches were lit and allowed him to see that his mother was sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Harry," she addressed him, "Thank Merlin, you're awake."

"What happened?" he asked in confusion. _'There was that spell. It hurt, and then everything went black,'_ he recalled.

"You have been unconscious for a whole week," Gwenlin said in a soft voice. "It's three o'clock on Monday morning now." She gently patted his arm. "Don't worry son. Everything is all right. They got rid of the Horcrux, and you're fine now. They say you might still be connected to Voldemort through your scar, but the evil part is out of your head now."

"Monday... week... Today is the first day of the test week?" Harry queried in disbelief.

"I think so," Gwenlin replied, smirking. "Do as well as you can. It doesn't matter. The only important thing is that you're all right."

"Okay Mum. Thanks for staying with me," Harry replied, before he drifted back to sleep.

HP

Two weeks later, the school year ended, and the party in the Ravenclaw common room was loud and jolly, since the house had once again won both cups, the house cup and the Quidditch cup. However, half-way through the party, Hermione and Harry retreated to the living room in the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor quarters in order to spend some quality time alone.

"I'm going to miss you so much," Hermione spoke up, leaning her head against Harry's as they sat on the sofa next to each other. "Even if I spend most of the day at Goblin Island with the twins, it's not the same without you."

"I know," Harry replied, soothingly. "Believe me Hogwarts isn't the same without you either. But it's only three more weeks, and I'll go home for a whole month. Apart from that, we can meet here every evening if you wish."

"That's a brilliant idea," Hermione agreed, excitedly. "I'll just apparate here to see you after dinner."

When they departed in front of Harry's room around midnight, knowing that no one would bother to scold them about being late for curfew, they felt both very much consoled at the thought of being able to see each other every evening without anyone knowing about the matter.

HP

Unfortunately, their plan did not work out exactly as intended. It was just one week into the holidays that the headmaster called everyone remaining in the castle including Harry into his office.

Harry noticed immediately that Dumbledore was wearing a grave expression. He even forgot to offer lemon drops. _'This must be a first,'_ Harry thought in concern, realising that even Fawkes, whose beak usually did not still when he met Harry, remained quiet for once.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews for yesterday's chapter! You have no idea what they mean to me and my muse._


	29. Chapter 29

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

One after another, the teachers entered the office. Only the four heads of house, Professor Lupin and Madam Pomfrey seemed to be in the castle at the moment.

"Only this morning," the headmaster began to speak, "we received the information that Hagrid has taken ill with the dragon pertussis. Apparently, he caught it from wild animals in the forest; however, since the incubation time is a week, he didn't know that he had caught it and spent a few hours at Diagon Alley, where he infested dozens of people. The dragon pertussis is very contagious and at the same time dangerous. Therefore, we are all under quarantine for the next week. No one is allowed to leave Hogwarts for the time being."

Turning to Snape and Harry, he continued, "The Minister of Magic asks you to invent a vaccination and brew enough of it to distribute it to all wizards and witches in Britain. At the same time, we need you to brew the remedy for the dragon pertussis, not only a batch for Hagrid but more batches to be prepared in case any of our colleagues here at Hogwarts take ill."

_'Oh no, I have to contact Mione and tell her to not come here in the evenings anymore,'_ Harry thought. _'I don't want her to get ill, plus due to the research I won't have time in the evenings.'_ Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind.

"Professor Snape, should we ask Brightbird if he was willing to help developing the vaccine?"

The Potions Master gave him a thoughtful look. "If he'd be willing to stay at Hogwarts in quarantine, I'd appreciate it..."

"Oh no, that's not possible," Harry interrupted him quickly. "They don't have holidays yet, so he still has to teach."

"Very well," the headmaster said, dismissing everyone with the words, "Please go and see Poppy at the slightest sign of feeling ill. This illness is so contagious that if you do as much as cough as someone, the person will definitely get the dragon pertussis as well."

_'Oh joy,'_ Harry thought, as he walked towards the dungeons together with Professor Snape.

"If you don't mind, I suggest that we use your lab," Snape spoke up, causing Harry to nod his agreement, knowing that it was because of the self-refilling charm that was placed on all ingredients shelves. "I just want to take some references with me."

HP

During the rest of the day, Snape skimmed books taking notes of anything that seemed useful for the composition of a vaccine, while Harry brewed several batches of the potion for dragon pertussis. The two wizards were so engrossed in their work that they looked up in confusion when Lupin suddenly entered Harry's lab.

"We're working," Snape growled.

"I see that," Lupin replied, lightly. "However, you already missed lunch, and I have the instruction from Albus and Minerva to fetch you for dinner."

"Ten more minutes," Harry replied shortly and continued with the brewing process.

"Tell them we'll be there in fifteen minutes," Snape instructed his colleague, pulling out two black cauldrons from the shelf.

HP

Right after dinner, Snape and Harry began to work on the first two experimental potions, while Snape had sent out Lupin to fetch a dozen rats for them from the dungeons.

All of a sudden, Hermione entered the room, paling visibly when she took in the scene.

"Ms. Granger," Snape sneered, "have you ever heard that students are not allowed to be at Hogwarts during the holidays?"

"I'm sorry sir," Hermione apologized in a soft voice. "I'm aware of the matter. However, I wanted to speak with Harry about something. I'm sorry that I disturbed you." With that she turned to the door.

"No Ms. Granger, stay," Snape replied, smirking. "If you're here anyway, you can at least make yourself useful and prepare some ingredients for us. You won't be able to return home now for at least a week."

Seeing Hermione stare at the professor with a combination of shock and disbelief, Harry finally spoke up. "I'm sorry Mione. Hagrid contracted the dragon pertussis, and everyone at Hogwarts is in quarantine now."

"Oh no," Hermione said, horrified. "When is the full moon?"

"In three weeks," Harry said, sighing. "I hope I'll get it before that if at all."

Snape gave him a horrified look, as he informed his apprentice, "The dragon pertussis lasts three weeks. You better not get it at all, or you'll be in for a rough time."

_'Would it be life threatening or what?'_ Harry wondered, staring at the professor's white face in surprise. _'Snape's normally not one to fret,'_ he thought, uncomfortably.

However, he should realise soon that the professor really seemed to be concerned. As soon as the next potions were ready and they had fed them to the rats, hoping to see a good result in the morning, Snape sent him to bed. "You need your rest," he insisted. "Ms. Granger, you'll accompany me to the headmaster. You should know better than to come here during the summer."

"Professor Snape," Helena suddenly spoke up, causing Harry to stare at her in surprise. He hadn't even noticed her sweep into the lab. "Ms. Granger has been coming to the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor quarters with the permission of my mother and the other three Founders. No one, not even the headmaster, has the right to deny her this permission."

Snape gave the Founder's daughter's ghost a thoughtful look. "And how did Ms. Granger come to your quarters?" he then queried. "Are these rooms connected through a fireplace?"

"No," Helena replied firmly. "However, like Harry, Hermione is able to use the goblin apparition that allows her to apparate straight into our quarters. Since she is Harry's girlfriend, I'm sure that Harry doesn't mind if she stays in our quarters for the time being, and Madam Pomfrey will certainly be willing to look after her here in case she falls ill with the dragon pertussis. So there is no need to inform the headmaster at all Professor."

"Thank you Helena," Harry said warmly, before Snape could even think of an adequate reply.

"Very well Ms. Granger," Snape said, thoughtfully. "Nevertheless, you need to inform your parents. Would you mind assisting Mr. Potter and myself with our research?"

"Of course not Professor," Hermione replied firmly. "I'd love to help."

"In that case, let's tell the headmaster that Mr. Potter asked you to come here for that purpose, so that you won't be stuck in these quarters," the professor suggested and led the young couple to Madam Pomfrey's office.

While Hermione fire-called her parents, Snape told Pomfrey the truth, and the healer sent Misty, her house-elf, to the Grangers to fetch Hermione's belongings. Finally, Pomfrey offered Hermione to stay in one of the small rooms behind her office, right next to Harry's room, and Hermione gladly accepted.

HP

The two friends spent an hour in Harry's room talking, before Pomfrey showed up and instructed Hermione to return to her own room for the night.

"Good night Mione," Harry said, before he leaned over and kissed his girlfriend. "I'm sorry that I couldn't inform you earlier."

"I'm not sorry at all," Hermione replied, smiling. "I'm very happy to be able to spend my holidays here at Hogwarts together with you."

"Yes that's true," Harry had to agree full heartedly.

HP

By the beginning of the following week, they still had not made any progress with the vaccine. Every evening, they hoped that one of the rats would still be well in the morning, however, all the rats used to be either dead or badly ill when they came to check on them.

Unfortunately, Professor Lupin had caught the disease from Hagrid, so that the quarantine period began anew for the inhabitants of the castle.

_'And I had hoped I'd be able to apparate home on Sunday,'_ Harry thought in disappointment. He also felt very sorry for Lupin, who was suffering from the illness.

However, a few days later, Harry's attention became diverted to a different problem. He began to have strange dreams. Unfortunately, the dreams were always about the same scene, and Harry realised soon that there was more behind it than just a normal dream.

"Professor," he hesitantly addressed Snape after watching the dream for the fourth time. "I am having strange dreams and always the same dream. It's about some strange creature that's talking with two men. I couldn't properly understand what they were talking about, but I'm fairly sure that I heard my name a few times."

"Show me," Snape demanded, and emerald green eyes locked into onyx orbs.

"It's not always the same dream, it's progressing," the professor stated after ending the Legilimency spell. "Does your scar feel different from normal or hurt?"

Harry remained thoughtful for an instant before he replied. "It tingles sir. My father told me that Voldemort is still alive in some form, because his spirit was already alive when the Horcruxes were destroyed. Could it be that it involves him and I can therefore see the scene?"

"That's what I believe," Snape admitted, pensively. "These dreams are not dreams Mr. Potter, they're visions. The strange creature must be the Dark Lord, and it's growing. Please allow me to show your memories to the headmaster."

"Of course," Harry replied, shrugging. _'I just hope these dreams will stop soon. It's very unsettling.'_

HP

However, instead of stopping, the visions rather became clearer, as he realised a few nights later.

**_Beginning of vision_**

_"Master," one of the humans told the creature, "we have to change our plans. The Muggle loving old fool has cancelled the Triwizard Tournament because of an outbreak of the dragon pertussis at Hogwarts. We must think of a different method to abduct Potter."_

_"Ah you fools," the creature replied in a raspy voice. "Nothing easier than that. If they cancelled the tournament, there will be Quidditch matches and Hogsmeade visits. You can easily transfigure the Snitch into a Portkey and we'll have him. See to it that you feed me enough until then."_

**_End of vision_**

Harry woke up in a cold sweat. _'I must show Snape the vision,'_ he thought and scrambled out of his bed. He slowly crossed the room, thinking, _'It's still a week till the full moon, but I'm already feeling bad today.'_

"Harry, where do you think you're going?" Helga asked sternly, eyeing the boy in apparent concern.

"Had a vision, need to show it to Snape," Harry mumbled, causing the ancient healer to shake her head in annoyance.

"You won't go anywhere but back to bed," she decided. "It's three o'clock in the morning, and you'll still be able to show it to him in the morning. You don't seem well though. Shall I call Poppy for you?"

"No thanks," Harry replied and climbed back into bed, glad to be able to lie down again. _'I just hope I won't have any more visions tonight,'_ he thought, as he drifted back to sleep.

He woke up to an ice-cold hand on his forehead, and - like from far away - he heard Hermione say, "Harry, you're burning up. I'm going to fetch Madam Pomfrey."

A few minutes later, he heard several voices around his bed, Snape's, Pomfrey's and Hermione's, however, he couldn't make out what they were saying. Like from far away, he heard a voice telling him to sit up, and he felt a phial being pressed against his lips that was exchanged by another one, as soon as he had automatically sipped the cold liquid.

All of a sudden, his vision became clearer, and he heard Pomfrey say, "Harry, you've caught the dragon pertussis."

"A few days too early," Snape said in a grave voice. "Mr. Potter, you did it. You managed to develop the vaccine. Rat number three, which took your potion number two, is alive and well."

"Thank Merlin," Harry replied, and a small smile appeared on his feverishly flushed face. "Please take it immediately, all of you."

"Don't worry sweetie," Hermione told him, smiling. "The three of us took it already, so we'll be able to look after you, and Professor Snape is going to brew more of it for everyone else today."

"I can help," Harry said, weakly.

"No you can't," Snape replied in a firm voice. "Thank Merlin we properly documented everything, so that I'll be well able to brew it without your assistance." He smirked, causing Harry to roll his eyes.

HP

During the following week, Harry's condition worsened on a daily basis. Pomfrey, McGonagall and Sprout looked after Lupin and Harry, while Snape brewed many batches of the vaccine potion and Hermione prepared the ingredients for him.

"Poppy, shouldn't Harry already be at least a bit better by now?" McGonagall asked her best friend one day. "Remus told me that he felt the first improvement after about five days."

"Yes, but Remus isn't suffering from the Blue Moon disease," Pomfrey replied in a grave voice, as she transfigured Harry's bed into a bath tub for the second time that day. "The full moon is tomorrow."

Knowing her best friend too well to well to not recognise the concern behind her friend's words, McGonagall asked, worriedly, "Poppy, he'll make it, right?"

Pomfrey sighed. "He is young, and he's strong in spite of the Blue Moon disease. I hope so," she replied in a soothing voice, as she settled Harry back in his bed.

The two friends looked up in shock, when Harry all of a sudden struggled to bring himself into an upright position, letting out a series of harsh coughs, before he mumbled. "Please excuse me. I have to apparate somewhere. Will be back in a few minutes."

"No," Pomfrey said, alert. "You won't apparate anywhere young man. You wouldn't survive such a trip at this stage."

"But I must," Harry replied, slurring the words. "Tell Snape I'll show him the memory later on, and give Hermione a kiss from me." With that he vanished from the sight.

"Poppy?" McGonagall asked, horrified. "Where did he go and how come that he can apparate within Hogwarts?"

_tbc..._

_A huge thanks to the kind readers who fed my muse with their comments! I really appreciate it._


	30. Chapter 30

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

"Don't worry Minerva, Harry didn't go anywhere; he's here," Pomfrey said, calmingly, firmly gripping Harry's arm. "He merely cast an invisibility charm at himself but did not manage to apparate yet."

"But I need to go," Harry protested, making a weak attempt to free himself from the healer's grip.

"No. You can't and you won't," Pomfrey replied, waving her wand to cancel the invisibility charm and cast a sleeping spell at the boy.

HP

When Harry woke up, McGonagall was sitting on the edge of his bed reading what seemed to be an old tome. _'I won't be able to get away without anyone noticing,'_ Harry realised. _'Someone is always with me.'_

"Pfessor," he addressed the Gryffindor head, "may I speak with Pfessor Snape please?"

McGonagall gave him a surprised look. "Of course sweetie, wait a moment."

"I'll fetch him," Pomfrey promised, who had just entered the room. "Maybe I can continue for him for a few minutes." She bustled away, muttering to herself in apparent annoyance.

Harry looked up, relieved, when the Potions Master entered the room giving him a curious look.

"Pfessor, I have'n idea," Harry informed him. "You know that creature that's growing but still small." Seeing Snape nod and look at him with interest, he continued, "If I go and cough at it, it should get ill with the dragon pertussis, and since the cure only works for people older than two years..." He slowly trailed off, leaning back into his pillow in exhaustion.

"That might work out," Snape replied, thoughtfully. "However, you're in no condition to apparate there right now. As soon as your condition improves after the full moon, we'll speak about it again. In the meantime, I'll consult the headmaster for his opinion." Seeing that Harry did not look very convinced, he added, smirking, "Don't worry Mr. Potter, you'll still be ill enough to get him sick next week."

HP

During the following forty-eight hours, Harry felt too miserable to even think about the matter. His head felt as if in a huge bubble of mist, and he could only faintly make out the voices around him that sounded like from far away. Only on the third day after the full moon, he was more alert and according to the people around him not in a life threatening condition anymore.

"Can I go and attack Voldemort today?" he asked Madam Pomfrey, who had heard about his plan from Snape.

"Let me fetch Professor Snape for you Harry. He'll discuss the matter with you," the healer replied and went to fetch her youngest colleague.

"Mr. Potter, we're only able to assess your condition from our spells," the Potions Master told his apprentice; "however, we can't look into your body. Only you can know if you'll be able to apparate there and back. You surely won't having problems coughing at the creature," he added, smirking.

"No," Harry replied, darkly, letting out a series of harsh coughs. "I'll be able to apparate there and back," he assured the professor. "I'm not sure if I can cast a strong enough invisibility charm to last for at least half an hour to be on the safe side though."

"That's no problem," Snape reassured him. "I'll cast the charm together with Professor McGonagall. No one will be able to look behind it."

"All right sir, thank you sir. Can we go ahead with it right away please?" Harry replied, giving the Potions Master a pleading look.

Having heard from the boy's mumblings during his illness how much the visions bothered him, Snape grudgingly agreed, even if he knew that the boy's condition still did not allow such a stunt. He fetched McGonagall, who was just having tea together with Lupin discussing how to escape from the healer's crutches, and together the two colleagues cast a strong invisibility charm as well as a silencing spell at the boy.

"If you're not back in thirty minutes, I will follow you or send Professor Flitwick after you," Snape said in a firm voice.

HP

"Am I really invisible now?" Harry asked, unsurely. Receiving no reply from either teacher, he said, "I'll be back in a few minutes. Oh well, you can't hear me anyway." With that he concentrated of the small creature from his visions and apparated away.

To his surprise, the creature was alone lying in its chair. _'Oh right, the other people are always with it during the night, when I get the visions. They'll probably be asleep now,'_ he thought and, standing right in front of the creature in spite of the headache that seemed to overwhelm him, let out a series of harsh coughs right into what seemed to be the creature's face. _'Better to be on the safe side,'_ he thought and coughed again as much as he could, before he concentrated on his own room at Hogwarts and apparated away.

HP

Back in his bed, he tiredly cancelled the silencing spell, before he spoke up. "Done," he said, making both professors turn to him in apparent relief.

They waved their wands to cancel the invisibility charm and Snape queried, "Did it work?" sounding uncharacteristically excited.

"I hope so," Harry replied and told the teachers about his short excursion.

"We'll probably get to know through your visions," Snape spoke up, thoughtfully.

Harry nodded, thinking, _'I hope it won't be too many.'_

However, his visions continued to occur on a nightly basis, and a few days later, when Harry almost began to fear that his plan had not worked out, the small creature began to moan and developed a horrible cough that became worse during the following hours. On the one hand, Harry was happy that he had managed to infest Voldemort's spirit with the dragon pertussis, on the other hand, the two men began to take care of the creature around the clock, causing him to be pulled into visions every now and then.

Unfortunately, the visions prolonged his own recovery, and everyone around Harry was very concerned about his condition. However, just a week after Harry had apparated to Voldemort, the visions abruptly stopped, almost as if the connection had suddenly been cut off.

"Let's hope that he's gone then," Snape spoke up, thoughtfully, when Harry informed him and Pomfrey about the sudden lack of visions.

"What about the Dark Mark Severus? Is it still visible?" Pomfrey queried, sounding equally excited.

Snape rolled up his left sleeve, only to stare at the blank arm in disbelief. "Congratulations Mr. Potter, you did it," he said, tonelessly.

Harry still could not believe that it had worked out. _'That's not possible. It was way too easy,'_ he thought; however, when he did not have any visions anymore during the rest of the summer, he finally realised that he had managed to completely get rid of Voldemort.

HP

By the time Harry was finally allowed out of bed, it was already the middle of July. _'Oh no, my summer holidays, which I intended to spend on Goblin Island, are already half over,'_ he realised, sadly. _'On the other hand, it's good that I didn't miss too much of my apprenticeship,'_ he thought, consoling himself.

HP

When Harry finally returned home to Goblin Island, the twins greeted him with excitement.

"There's something..."

"... that we must show you," they told him, as soon as he was finished greeting his mother and siblings.

"Come with us."

Surprised, Harry followed Jane and Kengo out of the house, wondering where they were heading, when they turned right towards the infirmary and the beach. They passed in front of the infirmary, before they stopped, pointing to the huge piece of land between the infirmary and the beach. It was an unused part of land and had always been like this since Harry could remember. Now, however, there was a huge wooden plate announcing that it was for sale.

"Why don't you buy this land if you want to have your own apothecary here?" Kengo asked, excitedly.

"It would be the optimal spot for it, even if the land is a bit too large for it," Jane added, giving Harry a questioning look.

"That's brilliant," Harry replied, thoughtfully. "Let's do that, provided that I have enough money to buy it. Do you know the one selling it?"

"Berghan," Jane read from the announcement.

"No, we don't know him," Kengo replied and wrote the name and the address on a small piece of parchment. "Let's go home and ask Mum about it. We just wanted to show it to you and ask you first."

"Hello Harry, are you finally back?" a soft voice greeted the boy from behind.

"Inken," Harry replied, smiling at the healer, who had come out of her house to greet him. "Yes, just now... finally," he added.

"But you managed to develop a vaccine for everyone else," Inken said, gently patting his arm. "I'm so very proud of you."

"Inken, do you know this person...?

"... Harry would like to buy the land here..."

"... for his apothecary," the twins questioned Inken, who gave them a thoughtful look in return.

"He won't sell it to Harry because he looks human and because he's still a child," she finally said, darkly. "Send your father to buy it, and please know that I'd be more than happy to have you here right next to me. Everyone on Goblin Island would appreciate having an apothecary right here."

HP

Two days later, the land belonged to Harry. Even if it was too big just for the planned apothecary, Buckbean and Harry had agreed to buy the complete land. "Maybe Jane or Kengo or Hermione want to open another shop, or we can build a new house for all of us to live right next to the beach," Harry had told his father, and Buckbean had agreed immediately, knowing that Harry wouldn't even have to touch the money that he had received for the Order of Merlin let alone his birth parents' vaults. The money, which he had received for the wolvescure potion during the last eighteen months was sufficient to buy the land.

When Harry, Hermione and the twins went to enter the part of land that now officially belonged to Harry, Harry spoke up, thoughtfully. "I believe that we should use the part right next to Inken's infirmary for the apothecary. If you have time during the school year, please think about if there's anything you'd like to use the other parts for. There's space for at least two more shops plus houses for all of us. I'd prefer having a house at the other end though, right next to the beach." He unobtrusively glanced at Hermione, who was smiling broadly at him.

"That's a wonderful idea," she agreed, and everyone promised to think about the matter.

Harry immediately began to make notes on a parchment, writing down what he wanted to have in any case like a fireplace, so that his human friends could come over at any time, as well as a portal that was connected to the one in front of the school, so that it would be easier for the older goblins who lived on the other side of the island to access the apothecary and also the infirmary. _'Maybe we should also make a small playground for the children to play while their parents visit the apothecary or the infirmary,'_ he thought, as he absentmindedly followed the others home. _'Oh well, we still have a few years to plan the whole thing.'_

HP

A few days later, Harry played his first match for the adults' team versus the children's team, and for the first time in seven years, the adults' team managed to win the match.

"Well done Harry. I'm glad that we have you on our team now," the captain told the boy afterwards. "I hope we'll be able to win against the elves and the humans as well."

The match versus the elves took place on the Sunday after Halloween and that against the humans on the Sunday after Christmas, and Harry did not disappoint the goblins but managed to catch the Snitch early enough to win the matches for his team.

"It's so much fun to play on the adults' team," he admitted to Hermione on the day after the match against the humans. "Even Fudge was there to watch. Unfortunately, I couldn't see his expression when he saw me play for the goblins..."

"But we saw it..."

"... He was fuming..."

"... when your name was announced," the twins supplied, grinning.

"And when you caught the Snitch..."

"... he just left."

Harry chuckled, contentedly.

HP

The new school year passed relatively uneventfully until one evening at the beginning of April, when Brightbird suddenly and unexpectedly apparated into Harry's lab.

Harry, who was just brewing a prank potion together with the Weasley twins, looked up in surprise and quickly cast a stasis charm on the potion.

"Brightbird," he said in surprise, quirking an eyebrow in silent question.

"Harry, one of the test potions worked," the goblin informed him, seeming uncharacteristically excited. "When I cast a diagnostic spell at the rat, the Blue Moon disease didn't show up anymore."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise and disbelief at the same time. "Does that really mean...?" He slowly trailed off, not willing to believe his luck.

"First of all it means nothing," Brightbird replied in a firm voice. "It's a step forward, but that's all for the time being. I must conduct several tests with the rat and keep it under observation until at least after the next full moon. Therefore, don't get your hopes up yet."

_'Difficult to not get my hopes up,'_ Harry thought, absentmindedly listening when Brightbird explained that he had just given a phial of the same potion to Snape in order to have the professor double check it.

HP

In the morning, when Snape gave him the assignment for the day, he informed him that his rat seemed also cured from the Blue Moon disease. During the following week, Harry impatiently watched the professor check on the rat every morning and evening. _'Still three weeks until the full moon,'_ he mused. _'It would be so great if I could take the potion next month.'_

However, one morning, two weeks after the rat had injested the potion, it was lying on the ground, apathically, breathing heavily.

"What's wrong with it?" Harry asked, worriedly, frowning when he noticed concern flash over the professor's face.

"Apart from the fact that it's suffering from severe breathing problems, I have no idea," Snape replied, casting a series of diagnostic spells at the rat.

"Shall I go and fetch Hagrid?" Harry queried. "Maybe he can help us."

"Maybe," the professor replied, absentmindedly.

_tbc..._

_A huge thanks to the kind readers who fed my muse with their comments! I really appreciate it._


	31. Chapter 31

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

Unfortunately, the rat did not make it through the night, and Brightbird's rat died a few days later.

"Harry, don't be too disappointed," Brightbird told him, when the three brewers of the wolvescure met three days before the full moon. "It is a step in the right direction, it just affords some more research and a lot of testing," he said in a soothing voice.

"Exactly," Snape agreed, wearing a blank expression.

Harry was more than disappointed. He was devastated. _'Will I never be cured?'_ he thought over and over and cried himself into sleep that night.

HP

"The Dursleys were right. I'm just a freak," he told Hermione, when she came to fetch him on time for breakfast.

Hermione stared at him in surprise and frowned. "You're not a freak," she said, indignantly.

"I am," Harry insisted. "I'm not even worth being your girlfriend. I'm like a cripple with that stupid disease."

"You're not!" Hermione contradicted, and before Harry knew what happened, she slapped him on his cheek. "Don't ever say let alone think such a thing again," she said in a firm voice. "It's ridiculous. I know that you feel bad for a few days around the full moon, but you're so brilliant at all other times that you do more than make up for it. Who cured the werewolves? You. Who saved Ginny Weasley's life? You. Who was the youngest person ever to take his Potions OWL and NEWT? You. Do I have to list up more?"

"No. It's all right. I'm sorry," Harry replied in a small voice, totally overwhelmed by his girlfriend's strong reaction to his bad mood.

"You have nothing to be sorry about sweetie," Hermione replied, gently, and kissed his cheek. "If anyone has the ability to find a cure it's you. Don't give up but work on it. And now come on, let's go and have breakfast."

Harry was just about to refuse, when her warning look told her that he wouldn't get around accompanying her to the Great Hall.

HP

_'Hermione was right. I shouldn't let myself go and whine like that,'_ he thought, when the full moon was over. _'I'll try harder now.'_ During the remaining months until his summer holidays in July, he skimmed the remaining Parselscript books of Slytherin. However, there was no recipe concerning the Blue Moon disease.

When he was at home for a month during the summer, he showed all of his notes about Slytherin's books to Brightbird, and the goblin helped him separate the recipes into those, which he should publish in a book, and those, which he should just brew and sell when he had his own apothecary in a few years' time.

"Show both lists to Snape and ask him for his opinion," Brightbird advised him, when they were finished.

"I'll do that," Harry promised, nodding in determination. _'Snape's advice is as valuable as Brightbird's,'_ he thought, when he returned home, where Hermione and the twins were already waiting for him.

HP

During the following months, Professor Snape kept Harry very busy, as he wanted him to take the Potions Mastery in the summer after his OWLs.

"I don't even have time to meet with you all during the week," Harry complained one evening during the weekend, when he joined his friends in the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor quarters for the first time in a week.

"Harry," Hermione replied, reproachfully. "Professor Snape only wants to make sure that you'll manage to pass the Potions mastery exam next summer."

"I know," Harry moaned, yawning.

"Maybe it's time..."

"... for a payback prank," the Weasley twins spoke up, making Harry smile.

"That's a good idea," he said, thoughtfully. "I really feel like playing a prank. Do you have an idea though?" he queried, quirking an eyebrow at the older students.

"Ah why don't we consult your amazing book..."

"... and choose one of Salazar Slytherin's potions," the twins replied, mischievously.

Harry agreed and fetched the Founder's book with the prank potions. It was the only book of Slytherin's Parselscript books, of which he had not translated at least all titles and descriptions yet.

"Here's something," Harry spoke up after an instant, chuckling. "The barking potion," he translated and explained the effects to his friends, causing everyone to laugh.

"Oh please do it to him," Neville urged him. "I can't wait."

"Yes, we'll do that," Harry promised, absentmindedly, while he read about a meaow potion. _'This will be the next,'_ he thought, grinning.

"Harry," his girlfriend lectured him, "you know that Professor Snape is going to get his revenge, and you know that he's a fully qualified Potions Master. I wouldn't want to be you if this ends up in another prank war."

"Ah, we all need some fun," Harry replied, cheerily, and ushered the twins into his lab.

HP

When Harry and Hermione arrived in the Great Hall for lunch on Sunday, a couple of Ravenclaw first-years told their housemates that they had seen Professor Snape bark at Mrs. Norris in the hall as if he were a dog.

"He barked?" Hermione asked, incredulously, while everyone but Harry stared at the head table in expectation.

However, when the Professor strode into the hall, nothing seemed out of the normal, and Harry tried hard to look as innocent as possible. It happened as soon as Professor McGonagall took the seat next to her youngest colleague. The Potions Master immediately began to bark at her as if he were a canine and she in her feline form.

"Severus," the deputy headmistress addressed the Slytherin. "Are you a dog now? To me you look quite normal."

"Potter," Snape managed to gasp between two barks.

"Are you sure?" McGonagall queried in surprise. She glanced at the Ravenclaw table, however, by now the whole student body had become aware of her colleague's predicament, and everyone was laughing anyway.

"Maybe you should change chairs with Hagrid or dine at the Slytherin table today," Pomfrey suggested to her younger colleague. "I believe that it only began when Minerva came quite close to you."

Growling and barking, the Potions Master rose from his chair and walked over to Hagrid, who was sitting at the opposite side of the head table. To his relief, the urge to bark vanished immediately, and without overly questioning him Hagrid agreed to sit next to the deputy headmistress.

_'Maybe I better skip dinner tonight,'_ Harry mused. _'Snape will surely want to get his revenge._'

"Harry, let's go. Snape has just left," Terry suddenly whispered. "Maybe Mrs. Norris is still in the halls."

Grinning, Harry followed his friends out of the Great Hall, only to realise that it was none other than Crookshanks who was roaming the entrance hall.

As soon as he unwillingly came near the feline, Snape began to bark in the voice of a large dog, causing the kneazle cat to walk up to him and stare at him in apparent surprise. Barking, the Potions Master turned towards the dungeons, closely followed by the feline.

"Crookshanks," Hermione finally called her back, taking pity with the professor. "Come here."

_'Ahh, but she never listens,_' Harry thought, observing in annoyance how the kneazle rubbed his side against Hermione's legs. _'Leave it to Crookshanks to obey just in such a situation._'

"When is it going to wear off?" Hermione asked, sternly.

"After twenty-four hours," Harry explained, "which means right before his first morning class."

"All right, at least you thought about it," the girl replied with a small smile playing on her lips.

HP

If Harry had believed that he could escape the Potions Master's revenge by skipping dinner that evening, he was sadly mistaken, as Snape merely sent his house-elf Cicero to Harry with the instruction to spell a certain potion right into his system.

Harry was sitting in the living room of the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor quarters waiting for his friends to join him after dinner. He had just finished translating the fifth prank potion, when his friends began to arrive.

"Harry, have you at least asked a house-elf for dinner?" Hermione enquired, giving him a concerned look.

"No, I was busy translating recipes," Harry replied, laying his notes aside. "I thought maybe we could go to the kitchens all together. You could still have an icecream or hot cocoa."

"That's a brilliant idea," Draco agreed immediately, causing everyone else to nod their consent.

The instant Harry rose from his chair, he knew that something was wrong. His legs felt... _'strange.'_

He tried to make a step foward, only having to quickly grab Hermione's shoulder.

"Harry?" she asked, smiling, and slowly turned around, gasping when she got to look into his face. "What's wrong?" she asked quickly, while the Weasley twins motioned everyone else to wait.

"I don't know," Harry replied, grimly. "My legs... or maybe my knees... just feel strange. Perhaps it's Snape's revenge. I'm not sure, but I don't think I can walk."

Neville and Terry carefully tried to help Harry to sit down again, however, he could not even properly sit anymore.

"Lie down and show me your knees," Hermione instructed him firmly.

Usually, Harry would have blushed profusely at the instruction, however, he felt too strange to even bother thinking about the matter and tried to lean forward to roll up his trousers. However, he could not bend his legs, and Neville had to help him pull up his trousers, so that Hermione could examine his knees.

"Yes, that must be a prank," Hermione said, sighing, and pointed out that his knees were reversed. The part that usually was in the front had been changed to the back and vice versa.

Harry let out a long sigh. "Don't wait for me. I'm just going to stay here and try to sleep until it wears off," he said, darkly. _'At least when I'm lying down I don't feel it so much,'_ he thought, feeling very consoled when his friends stayed with him until he drifted off to sleep.

HP

When Harry woke up in the morning, he realised in relief that the potion had worn off and he felt completely back to normal. _'Thank Merlin,'_ he thought, _'I wouldn't have been able to brew a difficult potion with that strange feeling in my knees.'_

Neither Snape nor Harry lost a word about the matter, and as soon as Harry had finished his potion and proceeded to brew easier concoctions for Pomfrey's stock, he began to consider which prank to play next. _'Maybe I should chose something for the whole head table not only for Snape,'_ he mused, as he bottled a batch of murtlap essence.

Unfortunately, Harry could not find any time to brew his prank potion, as he had to attend Transfiguration and Charms in the afternoon and do his homework, before he had to return to the Potions lab, where Snape kept him busy until late in the evening like he had done every weekday since the beginning of Harry's fifth year.

When he spoke to Iro for a few minutes before falling asleep later on, he told the serpent about his idea, and Iro promised to wake him up early in the morning.

At breakfast, the whole school was in for some fun.

HP

Severus strode towards the Great Hall, wondering if his apprentice would try to prank him again or give up the newst prank war after his predicament, from which he had to have suffered the previous night. _'At least he didn't have time to brew anything new yet,'_ he thought, as he took his seat at the head table.

Filling his favourite mug with the picture of a bubbling cauldron with coffee from the extra strong brew that the house-elves used to place on the table just for him, he looked for the milk jug, noticing in annoyance that it was out of his reach.

In fact, Minerva was just pulling over the milk jug to take milk for her coffee. However, instead of simply pouring some milk into her mug, she went meaow and began to lick from the jug as if she was in her feline form. Their colleagues let out a collective gasp at her sight, and Severus sighed, relieved, when she finally passed the jug to Albus. However, if he had expected the jug to be passed over to himself soon now, he was mistaken. Under the watchful eyes of their colleagues and most of the students, the headmaster began to make meaowing sounds and happily licked the milk right out of the jug.

"Albus, what are you doing?" Minerva queried, apparently taken aback.

"Exactly the same thing that you did a minute ago," Severus replied with a sneer on his lips.

"I did not do such a thing," Minerva insisted, crossly.

"You did," Poppy came to Severus' help and accepted the jug from Albus, before she proceeded to behave as if she was in a feline Animagus form.

"Disgusting," Severus mumbled, almost grabbing the jug out of Poppy's hand when she was finished licking. _'Surprising that there's even milk left,'_ he thought and poured half of the remaining liquid into his mug.

"Severus, you're doing it as well," Minerva pointed out. "You, Albus and Poppy should know better how to behave in the Great Hall. Please stop this childish behaviour. All the students are already watching us."

"I didn't do anything but pour some milk into my mug," Severus contradicted in a firm voice, observing from the corner of his eyes how Rolanda licked the milk jug with apparent gusto.

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. _'Potter again?'_ he wondered, unobtrusively letting his eyes wander to the Ravenclaw table.

_tbc..._

_A huge thanks to the kind readers who fed my muse with their comments! I really appreciate it._

_Some people asked if the rat was Peter Pettigrew. No, of course not, since he was kissed by a Dementor in chapter 28 :P_


	32. Chapter 32

**The Goblins' Son**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.__  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

During the remaining months of his fifth Hogwarts year, Professor Snape kept Harry very busy, so that he barely ever had time to consider further pranks let alone brew anything that was not important.

Harry felt extremely annoyed by the fact that he lost valuable time every month due to the Blue Moon disease, however, a cure was not in sight. He barely ever could spend time on the research, however, Brightbird and Snape continued to work on it. Unbeknownst to the boy, as they did not want to disappoint him again, they had come close to a solution again twice, however, like before, in both cases the rats had taken seriously ill and died afterwards.

_'When I'm done with the Mastery exam, I'll really concentrate on finding a cure,'_ Harry resolved, when a sudden thought crossed his mind. _'I'm going to take my OWLs this summer and the Mastery exam during the holidays. What am I supposed to do afterwards except for taking the NEWTs in Healing and Herbology?'_

From that time onwards, the thought continued pushing itself to the front of his mind, and on the day of the full moon - a day that Harry usually spent studying for the OWLs, since Snape did not allow him to brew - he resolved to speak about the matter with his mentor.

It was a Saturday, and Harry found the Potions Master in his office, where he was grading homework.

"I can do it sir," Harry offered, causing the professor to give him a surprised look.

"You have been my apprentice since almost three years," Snape replied, sounding bored. "Did we change the rules concerning the two days before and after the full moon?"

Harry sighed. "No sir, I was only asking because grading homework or brewing potions is different and I'd be well able to assist," he said in a firm voice and explained, "In fact, I came because I'd like to speak with you about something sir."

Snape motioned him to take a seat and laid down his quill, quirking an eyebrow in silent question. Only when Harry was finished asking, he spoke up. "I was wondering when you'd discuss the matter, considering that the OWLs are going to take place in four weeks' time." He cleared his throat, before he continued, slowly, "I've already spoken with the headmaster about the matter, and he agreed to keep you here as my assistant."

"Oh thank you sir," Harry replied, relieved.

"The question is," Snape continued, "what you'd like to do. We should probably separate the tasks to a certain extent. Would you prefer to teach the classes or to brew the supply for the hospital wing?" He raised an eyebrow, looking at the boy in expectation.

"I love teaching," Harry said, thoughtfully. "On the other hand, it might be better if I specialised on brewing the supply, considering that I'm planning to have my own apothecary after the NEWTs."

"That makes sense," Snape agreed, nodding his head in thought.

"Won't you mind sir?" Harry queried in surprise. "I always thought that you prefer the brewing to teaching."

"If it's only the teaching and grading apart from being the head of Slytherin without having to brew the supply, it'll be all right," Snape reassured him. "In fact, I'd suggest that you try to fix a contract with Madam Pomfrey and the headmaster that allows you to provide the complete support for the hospital wing. It would give you a good starting point for your own business."

Harry stared at the Potions Master in disbelief. "Professor, would you not mind if I did such a thing?" he asked, incredulously.

"Mr. Potter," Snape replied, sighing. "You know as well as I do that being the Slytherin head and Potions professor is a full-time position. It's as much work as the other professors have. I'd be happy to have some free time for possible research projects, for which I have many ideas. During the full moon, I'll of course take over for you."

HP

Deep in thoughts, Harry spent the rest of the day. When his mother came to take care of him during the night, he shortly told her about it, and in the morning, he discussed the matter with both his parents and his siblings who came to visit him, as it was a Sunday and Harry was unable to apparate home.

"Harry, I believe that this is a wonderful idea," Buckbean confirmed. "I suggest that you speak about it with Brightbird next Sunday. He'll probably be equally happy as Snape if you made such a supply contract with Inken."

During the weeks before the end of the school year, Harry discussed the matter with Hermione, Brightbird, Inken, Pomfrey, Dumbledore, McGonagall and Flitwick. To his enormous relief, everyone agreed that it was a brilliant idea, and Brightbird offered the same as Snape - to take over during the full moon.

HP

One day, the Weasley twins cornered him and asked, "When you're a Potions Master, you're able to take apprentices, aren't you?"

Harry cast them a surprised look. "I've no idea if there are other requirements, but why?"

The twins exchanged a glance, before they explained.

"We'd like to have our own joke shop..."

"... but until we'll be able to earn some money..."

"... we can't, so we thought..."

"... that we could at least make efficient use of our time."

Harry shook his head in confusion. "How much do you need for your shop?" he then asked. Without waiting for a reply, he instructed his friends to make an account at Gringotts and promised to transfer an adequate amount of money, resolving to ask his father about the matter. _'I hope they'll succeed putting up a joke shop. I really like them. They're not only very funny but also really nice,'_ he thought, when he returned to his room.

HP

The first day of the OWLs was on the day of the full moon. _'Thank Merlin that I already took my Potions OWLs, otherwise I'd have surely failed today,'_ Harry thought, gratefully, and followed Pomfrey's advice to rest in order to be well enough to pass the Transfiguration exam on the following day.

Harry knew himself that his performance during the practical test was not as good as it would have been if not on the day after the full moon. However, McGonagall, who was supervising the exam together with the examiner from the Ministry of Magic, told her colleague that Harry was sick and asked to give him a chance to prove his Animagus abilities. With his transformation into a water phoenix, Harry was able to gain additional thirty points, _'which should make up for my bad performance earlier,'_ he thought, relieved.

The other tests passed uneventfully, and Harry had the impression as if he had done well on all tests.

_'Thank Merlin it's over,'_ he thought in relief. _'Now I can really concentrate on the Mastery exam.'_

HP

However, his friends had other ideas.

"Harry, we already finished our fifth Hogwarts year," Mandy spoke up in the evening after the last exam, when the friends were gathered into their living room once again.

"And?" Harry queried, quirking an eyebrow in amusement.

"And we haven't pranked Professor Flitwick even once," Mandy explained. "Can't you brew some kind of prank potion for him, please?"

Everyone began to laugh, except for Hermione, who rolled her eyes in apparent annoyance. "Professor Snape has given Harry the week off to study and to rest and not to brew prank potions," she spoke up in a firm voice. "Harry really needs it after a test week right after the full moon."

Harry gently laid his arm around her back and said in a soothing voice, "It's all right Mione. I'll brew something easy that'll only take less than an hour. I believe that everyone deserves some fun now."

"We're in," the Weasley twins spoke up, simultaneously, and jumped from their seats.

"Thanks," Harry replied, gratefully, knowing that the two were very adept at Potions and made great assistants.

HP

On Saturday evening, under the watchful eyes of everyone assembled in the Great Hall, Professor Flitwick moon walked to his chair, making all the students giggle and the Muggle borns to hum Michael Jackson's songs all through dinner, while the purebloods cast them surprised looks.

"Do something so that he comes here," Terry whispered, and Mandy and Luna, who also belonged to the group of Harry's best friends, immediately began a mock fight that made the professor moon walk over to the Ravenclaw table in clear annoyance.

"What was that for a potion?" Hermione whispered, after Flitwick had returned to his seat.

"Why the moon walk potion of course," Harry replied, smiling innocently at his girlfriend.

HP

On Sunday morning, the whole Ravenclaw table was unable to drink anything for breakfast. As soon as any of them tried to grab their glass, the glass quickly moved away from their hand as if driven by an invisible magnet.

"Don't worry, I'll ask a house-elf to bring something to drink to the common room after breakfast," Harry promised, while a heated discussion developed if their mishap was caused by a potion or a charm.

"If it was a charm, we'd be able to cancel it," Hermione said, thoughtfully and waved her wand around the table, whispering, "Finite incantatem."

However, nothing happened, and Harry saw from the corners of his eyes how the whole high table was observing them in apparent amusement.

'Ever heard of the anti attraction potion?' Snape suddenly thought to his apprentice, causing Harry to glare at the professor.

"It's a potion," he informed the others. "The anti attraction potion. I have no idea when it's going to wear off."

'It won't wear off,' Snape telepathically informed the boy. 'It can only be cancelled by a charm. You have to tap your glass with your spoon thrice.'

Harry looked at the teacher in silent question. However, Snape merely quirked an eyebrow. Annoyed, Harry took his spoon and - as carefully as possible - tapped his glace thrice in a quick succession. To his even greater annoyance, the sound was so loud that everyone turned their heads towards him, even if he had tried to tap the glass as quietly as possible. He couldn't help blushing and almost forgot to try if it had worked.

"And? Can you touch your glass now?" Hermione finally asked, impatiently.

"Err... yes," Harry replied, firmly gripping his glass with both hands.

An enormous tumultus commenced at the Ravenclaw table, where all students began tapping their glass with their spoon simultaneously.

Only because he was sitting near to the head table could Harry hear Snape utter, "Ten points from Ravenclaw for making such a ruckus."

_'How unfair,'_ he thought, glaring at the professor, when Professor Flitwick jumped from his chair, seemingly excited. "Fifteen points to Ravenclaw for finding out a difficult counter charm," the half goblin shouted, cheerily.

"Flitwick is the best," Harry whispered to Hermione, who for once agreed unconditionally.

HP

During the remaining four weeks before the Potions Mastery exam, Snape continued to keep Harry busy with the brewing of difficult potions.

It was on the day before the first day of the exam, which was going to last for five days, that Harry was inattentive for a moment and cut his finger. _'Stupid me,'_ he thought in annoyance but otherwise ignored the matter, unaware that not only a drop of the potion for the dragon pox that he was just brewing entered his bloodstream but also a drop of his own blood fell into the experimental potion that was simmering in the second cauldron.

On the last day of the test week, Harry woke up feeling awful. _'Oh no,'_ he thought, horrified. _'The full moon is still a week away.'_ He dragged himself to his lab and downed a headache potion along with a strong fever reducer and made his way to the Potions classroom, where the exam was taking place. Only when he was brewing his potion did he notice in surprise that the spot on his forefinger, where he had cut himself a few days ago, had turned into a large, green bump. _'My forefinger is twice of its normal size,_' he thought, absentmindedly.

Fortunately, he managed to get through both the practical and theoretical part of the exam as well as during the other days, or at least he thought so, however, by the end of the day, he knew that he was seriously ill.

Apparently realising that he could barely keep himself upright anymore, Snape accompanied him to the hospital wing, as soon as the examiner from the Ministry of Magic had left.

HP

Pomfrey waved her wand over him in apparent concern, muttering to herself, before she finally spoke up. "You caught the dragon pox. I have no idea where you could catch such a disease," she added, looking from Harry to the professor in obvious surprise.

"I know," Harry groaned, showing his finger to the healer and the professor. "Last Sunday, I cut my finger, while I was just brewing the potion for the dragon pox, but I didn't pay attention to it. Maybe some of the potion got into my bloodstream."

"Of course," Snape replied, sounding very angry. "As a soon-to-become Potions Master you should know better than to ignore a cut in your finger. That was very stupid."

"Yes I know," Harry whispered. "I'm sorry."

"I'm going to brew the prevention potion for our colleagues," Snape announced and left.

"Mistakes happen to everyone dear," Pomfrey said gently. "The only problem is that you're going to be very ill for at least two weeks, and unfortunately we have the full moon in a few days. You're in for a tough time Harry."

To his relief, the healer allowed him to go back to his room and remain there, provided that the door to the small corridor behind her office stayed open at all times, so that she could monitor him more easily.

HP

When Harry was back in his own room gently tucked into his bed by Pomfrey, he couldn't help the tears stream out of his eyes. _'How could I be so stupid?'_ he thought, bothered less by the disease but rather by the opinion that he could expect Snape to have of him yet again. _'He'll be glad that I'm not his apprentice anymore,' _he thought. _'And I was so looking forward to going home to see Hermione, the twins and my parents tomorrow,'_ he thought, sobbing at the idea that he wouldn't be able to see his girlfriend for another two weeks.

All of a sudden, Hermione was sitting on the edge of his bed. "Harry," she said, looking at him in concern. "What happened? Did you fail the exam?"

"No," Harry sobbed and told her the whole story. "I'm so stupid. Now I can't spend the holidays with you, and Snape will surely hate me now. Maybe he'll treat me like during my first year again."

"Nonsense," Hermione replied in a gentle but firm voice. "He won't. You're a Potions Master now just like himself, and I have the impression as if you had become good friends in spite of being professor and student. He might ridicule you for a while, but he'll get over it. The most important thing is that you try to get better before the full moon. I'll ask Pomfrey if I may stay with you."

With that she left the room so quickly that Harry's fevered mind began to wonder if she had been there at all. _'Probably I'm just delirious and see things that I want to see,'_ he thought, sadly.

_'Snape will probably never look at me again. He'll even tell Hermione how stupid I was,'_ he mused, unaware of the fact that he was going to work together with Snape closer than ever during the following months.

_tbc..._

_A huge thanks to the kind readers who fed my muse with their comments! I really appreciate it._

_I have just written this story up to the end. Which of my unfinished stories would you like me to continue first?_


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